Les Liaisons Dangereuses in Hogwarts
by ShackRobin
Summary: This story starts as a battle of wits and wills between Sirius and his cousin, but soon follows Sirius through his transformation into an Animagus and his running away from home. Starts in Sirius/James/Lily's 5th year at Hogwarts. JPLE, BLxSBxOC
1. A Dangerous Proposition

_**Introduction : Les Liaisons Dangereuses**_

**"Well, Black family tradition decreed that the house was handed down the direct line, to the next male with the name of 'Black.' Sirius was the very last of the line as his younger brother, Regulus, predeceased him and both were childless. While his will makes it perfectly plain that he wants you to have the house, it is nevertheless possible that some spell or enchantment has been set upon the place to ensure that it cannot be owned by anyone other than a pureblood...And if such an enchantment exists, then the ownership of the house is most likely to pass to the eldest of Sirius's living relatives, which would mean his cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange."**

But what if the relationship between Sirius and Bellatrix weren't always this way?

* * *

This plot draws heavily from _Cruel Intentions_, a cinematic adaptation of the original French tale to American high school students.

Vicomte de Valmont – Sirius Black

Madame de Mertuil – Bellatrix Black

Madame de Tourvel – Cornelia Crouch

Cécile Volanges – Narcissa Black

The Chevalier Danceny – Severus Snape

Madame de Rosemonde – Lillian Evans

Comte de Gercourt – Lucius Malfoy

Characters added for the purpose of setting –

James Potter, Remus Lupin, Professors, Sirius' family, Lily's family

In which Sirius, Narcissa, Severus, and Lily are fifth years at Hogwarts. Lily and Remus are Prefects.

In which Lucius Malfoy has recently graduated from Hogwarts, but visits on "Official Capacity".

In which Bellatrix Black is a seventh year and Head Girl.

In which Cornelia Crouch is a fifth year in Ravenclaw.

_Although Sirius Black has not been converted to Slytherin as his family may have preferred, he harbors certain dark tendencies all the same. He is on good terms with a fair number of Slytherins, but is still a member of the Marauders we all know and love. Recall that pureblood wizarding families have no issue with practicing incest…_

* * *

_**Chapter One: A Dangerous Proposition**_

Sirius lounged lazily upon his bed. His last girlfriend, a simpering Hufflepuff, had left him after he had refused to spend winter vacation with her after sleeping together a number of times. His best friend, James Potter was musing about his crush, Lillian Evans and planning their next set of adventures on a moonlit night. Girlfriend or no – life was divine for Sirius Black.

"We're staying at Lily's for winter break, right?" asked James as Sirius got up to leave the boys' dormitory.

"Sounds fantastic. Who else will be there?"

"Mary Macdonald and her friend from Ravenclaw, Cornelia." James uttered the latter name very slowly, knowing the effect that it would have on his best friend. The Crouches were prominent members of the Council of Fourteen (2).

Sirius looked annoyed. If there was one girl he _didn't_ want to see—it was Cornelia Crouch. Unsufferably sure of herself—and extremely good at school—Cornelia was absolutely no fun at parties. In fact, she was quite the opposite of most of the pureblood witches, it seemed, who would like nothing better than to spend an evening with Sirius Black.

"Don't drag me to another one of these events just because you want to spend time with your precious _Lily-flower_," returned Sirius, "I'll be in the Heads' Suite."

James glared at his retreating back.

"For all the times that you've made me play a first year to get girls-you owe me!"

It was not really Sirius' fault that his elder cousin Bellatrix was unforgivably beautiful. She had inherited the same haughty looks that he himself possessed, but rather than being a softer, more feminine version, she was beautiful by virtue of her cruelty. With heavily lidded eyes and long, thick, black tresses, the vast majority of the seventh year males were besotted with her. That is, unless they had been destroyed by her sharp tongue and sharper personality. However, in the same way that she had charmed them, she had somehow charmed the teachers and female members of her class. It was a trait she shared with her future master, Tom Riddle.

"Hello, dear _cousin_," whispered Bellatrix as Sirius entered the Heads' Suite. Sirius kissed her on both cheeks as a greeting, and she smiled.

"How fares life as teacher's pet?" asked Sirius, knowing that this would disturb her.

"Deliciously."

"I just told James about the inner workings of Miss Sophie, Ravenclaw prefect."

"How queer you two are," replied Bellatrix disdainfully.

"How desperate you are to know what we discuss," returned Sirius skillfully, "In any case, I am tired of the Hogwarts hoi polloi. Where is the challenge is pursuing sycophantic girls?"

"There is none, dear cousin."

"Perhaps if my classes weren't so blasé, I might spend more time on them. At least Minerva never tires of my banter," mused Sirius, lounging on Bellatrix's bed.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes.

"If you require a diversion other than Minerva, I have a proposition."

"Do tell."

"My sister is becoming engaged to Lucius Malfoy."

"How horrible! Won't Lucius be disappointed? Narcissa is terribly inexperienced," lamented Sirius, staring at Bellatrix to derive her true intentions.

"But more importantly, Lucius was _mine_. And now my dear, pathetic, mother has betrothed little Narcissa to influential Lucius Malfoy."

"Why not you?"

"It's exactly that – I _already_ have a position in society, but poor Narcissa does not. _Why can't Narcissa be a prefect like you, Bellatrix_?" mocked Bellatrix, imitating her mother's simpering tone.

"And no intervention from Lucius, I assume."

"Never – why choose something he's already enjoyed over the blossoming fruit of youth," jeered Bellatrix.

"Or, more specifically, something no one else has enjoyed," offered Sirius, sitting elegantly, "he's not the most loyal of boyfriends, I think."

"Exactly."

"I assume that is where I come in, no?"

"I always knew you were the most intelligent of my cousins."

"One must forgive Regulus for being so young. However, this pursuit is far too easy. I shall have to determine another goal for myself."

It was Bellatrix's turn to show curiosity.

"And who might that be."

"Cornelia Crouch."

Bellatrix laughed hysterically—in a way that made Sirius think that she was unhinged.

"First—I don't understand why you would want to even spend _time_ with her. Secondly, she thinks that you are the most arrogant wizard who walked these halls—so no problems, really!"

"So you think I can't do it?"

"Of course not! The thought of Cornelia Crouch with _you_! Oh I see where this is going—well dear, if we're going to make a bet of it—let's make the stakes high."

"What are the terms?"

Bellatrix thought dangerously.

"If you can't—you have to come with me to a meeting with my dear Lord."

Sirius grimaced. He knew that Bellatrix and he differed on their views about the ultimate aims of one who styled himself Lord Voldemort. Bellatrix thought it was a terrible waste that he, the scion of the Black family, would not join the movement. But he knew how wrong the mission was, and how they must aim to stop it. But he also thought that the joy of seeing her handsome cousin might make dear Bellatrix more pliable in other areas. And so he nodded.

"And quid pro quo, my dear. If I win—you must leave him."


	2. Education

_**Chapter Two: Education**_

"Miss Black, a moment please?" asked Professor Slughorn of Narcissa at the end of class. Narcissa, who had never possessed the astonishing skills of her elder sister, had finished yet another abysmal potion. Her swelling solution had dissolved the cauldron entirely, and destroyed a portion of the table.

"Yes, Professor?" the blonde haired girl asked timidly.

"I think it is necessary for you to receive additional instruction in Potions. Unfortunately, I am not able to oversee your studies because of my commitments to some of my older students. However, I am able to recommend a worthy second."

"A…second?"

"Yes, a student who is fully capable of tutoring you. Luckily, he is a member of your own house, so it should not be difficult to schedule tutoring sessions."

At this, Professor Slughorn beckoned to Severus Snape, who had been lurking in the shadows. The greasy-haired student emerged, and stood at attention.

"Severus, I want you to tutor Narcissa in potions at least three days a week. It should not be difficult."

Snape merely nodded curtly, and Narcissa followed up with a wary nod of her own.

When Professor Slughorn left the two students alone, Snape finally spoke.

"How about tomorrow, in the Slytherin Common room."

Narcissa barely found her voice to respond –

"That is fine."

There was a knock on the Head Girl's Door. Bellatrix frowned. Sirius would know to come in, and no one else would dare to meet her face to face.

"Bella, it's me," spoke a timid voice.

It was Narcissa, which, Bellatrix supposed she ought to have expected.

"Come in, Cissa."

The blonde girl smiled in a relieved fashion, and sat down on the bed, much to her sister's dismay.

"I just wanted to talk, Bella."

"There is no need for distance between sisters, my dear."

"Well, I'm just afraid of not fitting into society – you know, as mama expects."

"Between you and me, my dear, there is a great deal that mama doesn't know about society."

"What is that?"

"That one must be adventurous, and take risks in order to not only fit into society, but excel in it."

Narcissa's eyes had lit up. She stared at her sister as though she had just received a magical key to a tightly locked door.

"Adventurous, Bella? I am already very adventurous, I play Quidditch and once I went near the Forbidden –"

"That is not the kind of adventurous I mean."

Bellatrix gave Narcissa a very serious look. She smiled a benevolent smile, and continued,

"I think you know what kind of adventurous I am referring to."

"But Bella, mama would never approve of those things."

"Cissa, times have changed since mama went to school. It is exactly the sort of thing that has served me well thus far."

"But those things are for _women of ill-repute_."

"Not if no one knows about it."

At this point, Narcissa stood up, her face full of unbridled glee. Somehow, at the same time, she appeared mortally shocked. She turned to leave, but stopped for a second.

"Cissa, is there something more you want to say?"

"Oh – just that – you know my new Potions tutor?"

"Yes?"

"He's a very nice boy."

After Narcissa left, Bellatrix sat on her bed for a long time and thought. Stupid people are so easy to manipulate.

* * *

James ripped Sirius out of bed where he had been lying for the entire afternoon. If it were anyone else, it may have been conjectured that they had died in their sleep. However, James knew that Sirius merely seemed to become more tired than anyone else. James quickly pulled out his wand and though, "_Levicorpus_", with the result that Sirius was hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"Get up, you lousy oaf!"

"Honestly James, can't I sleep just a little bit longer? Also, I'd rather you set an alarm."

"We're going to dinner!"

"I've been to dinner dozens of times."

James smiled to himself.

"Not with Cornelia Crouch."

Sirius immediately regretted telling James about his bet with Bellatrix.

However, he thought "_Liberacorpus_", and was down in a trice, and in another few moments, both he and James were climbing into their dress robes. They made their way down the dormitory stairs, where Lily Potter was waiting with a very severe expression on her face. James nearly wolf-whistled, for Lily was wearing robes of bottle green that matched her eyes quite exquisitely. He was saved from this indiscretion by Sirius, who pinched him. The three exited with some Gryffindor sixth and seventh years who all walked wordlessly from the tower to the prefect's bathroom.

It was not for nothing that the professors at Hogwarts were considered experts in their field. The taps and other signs of a bathroom had completely vanished to create an enchanting dining space. The students from Ravenclaw had lined up along one table, and Sirius could her dark brown hair from the entrance. He and James nearly tripped over each other trying to sit next to the girl they liked best. Soon Sirius found himself seated across from Cornelia with only the blood pudding separating them. James was next to Sirius on the other side and had managed to scrape a seat next to Lily. Sirius suspected that he had pulled some strings with the professors for this result, as Lily had only recently agreed to talk to him _at all_, and then only when he wasn't hexing Snape. On the other hand, Cornelia had taken one look at Sirius and did not seem interested in sparing another one.

"You know Cornelia, I read what your father said in the Daily Prophet today," began Sirius, referring to Barty Crouch, Sr.'s announcement about new restrictions on Dark Magic users.

James choked on his fish and wondered at his friend's audacity. Cornelia looked scathingly at him, since she didn't appreciate being associated with her father inside the school.

"I thought it was rather absurd." James then slopped his soup over the front of robes, which only served to draw the attention of the remainder of the table to them.

"That is interesting, considering the otherwise positive responses my father has received."

"No one would say otherwise, considering the subject matter."

"I highly doubt that one of your repute would understand my perspective."

Sirius managed to keep a straight face, but James was sure that he had gulped down at least one whole mussel.

"_My_repute, my dear?"

"I don't need to go any further than your name, do I, _Black_?" countered Cornelia, her dark eyes glittering.

Sirius sneered, looking particularly elegant and handsome.

"What makes you think that my views are colored by my lineage? Maybe I have some other problems with what your father is doing? You know—like deciding to send people to Azkaban without a trial."

The name of the wizarding prison drew gasps from the other dinner attendees. Cornelia looked unfazed.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, Sirius. Maybe if you didn't spend all your time with mischief doers and Dark wizards, you would understand what it means to be _serious_."

"Why not decide for yourself, instead of discounting my opinion based on what your _father _thinks?"

Cornelia flushed. There were many things people could accuse her of doing—but being a pawn was not one of them.

"Is that not what I am doing?"

Lily pursed her lips as if she did not like where the conversation was going and James obliged by turning the topic to more mundane matters. For once—her annoyance wasn't directed at him!

* * *

Cornelia was walking with Lily down to the Great Hall, and turned to her auburn-haired companion.

"Is Sirius different from his family?"

Lily looked appraisingly at the brown haired witch—her hair was rather darker than her brother's sandy thatch. Lily knew of Bartemius Crouch's reputation—he would stop at nothing to put away dark wizards—and she rather wondered if his daughter was the same.

"Well, he's not in Slytherin, for one."

* * *

Sirius sauntered into the Head's Suite, slightly tipsy after the round of firewhiskies that he had James had gotten after the dinner ended.

"How goes it, my dear cousin?"

"She is already warming up to me."

"That's not what I heard about Miss Crouch."

Sirius looked properly chagrinned—but continued as though he were successful—

"Miss Crouch enjoys our verbal swordplay—I think that most people don't challenge her views for fear of retribution from her father."

Bellatrix looked utterly bored with the discussion.

"You appear to be doing poorly with regards to my sister."

"Narcissa is hardly as engaging as Cornelia."

"I hardly think that you would have been as interested in her were it not for _our_ bet."

Bellatrix knew that she had hit a soft spot—for she alone among the girls of Hogwarts could be distinguished from Sirius's many conquests and admirers.

"Irked by Lucius' infidelity."

"That is not relevant, _cousin_. If you do not make haste, I shall allow Snape to take your place."

"As though Snivellus would be good at something like that. I think he spends his days wondering where Remus goes once a month. Well—who knows where I would spend my days if I didn't have somewhere else to go?"


	3. Love Potion?

_**Chapter Three: Love Potion Number Thirteen**_

Severus Snape walked back from his lessons in a very excited manner. Now, it took a great deal to elicit this reaction from Snape, so he received a number of strange looks. However, this did not faze him, because today was his lesson with Narcissa Black.

To Severus' great surprise, Narcissa, or "Cissy" as she preferred to be called, was nothing like her elder sister. When Bellatrix was confident, Narcissa was timid, where Bellatrix was hauntingly beautiful, Narcissa was merely passable. Nevertheless, there was something about the blonde waif that was very attractive to the Slytherin boy. Sometimes—he pretended that her blonde hair was that perfect shade of red—

"Hi Severus," greeted Cissy rather breathlessly.

"Hello. Have you brought your notes?"

"Of course."

"I was thinking that we could do a practical today. You know, actually practice making a potion. Professor Slughorn would be fine with it."

Narcissa's large; almost crystalline, blue eyes stared unflinchingly at Snape.

"Oh, I'm not sure I'm up to it—I've nearly run through the new cauldrons that Mother brought for me last time."

The two of them walked across the hall to the Potions' dungeon classroom, and Snape wished for a moment that Narcissa _would_ be a little more like her sister. She was too naïve for her own good.

Everything was going smoothly, and Narcissa asked Severus if he could please show her how to properly decant the elixir, and just when she should add the lacewings. After a few demonstrations, Narcissa still was not able to complete the task. Severus was rather hoping that she would show a little bit more gumption about the lesson.

"Why don't I help you do it?"

"How?"

"Like this…"

Snape took her hand, and used it to pick up just the right amount of lacewings. He had never really noticed how soft her white hands were, or how small her delicate fingers felt under his. Narcissa twisted her head upwards, so that he was almost encircling her with his arms, and her head was just beneath his. They were so close, close enough to do much more than mix potions…until a tinkling sound came from the corner of the room. Narcissa pulled away in fright and almost knocked over her potion.

It was Bellatrix. She had pushed over a bottle when she had opened the door.

"What do we have here, my dears?"

"Oh – Bella – you know Severus – he's teaching me how to mix potions."

Bellatrix merely raised an eyebrow, and left.

Mrs. Druella Black walked into the Hogwarts Great Hall with a very concerned expression on her face. She immediately enquired as to the whereabouts of the Head Suite, and arrived there not long afterward. After a quick knock, she was let inside by her eldest daughter.

Bellatrix knelt down and kissed her mother's extended hand, but quickly resumed her position at her desk.

"Hello mother, I have missed you dearly."

"And I you, but let us not tarry around the matters that have brought me here."

Bellatrix assumed a pained expression, and looked at her mother plaintively.

"I do not wish to say."

"But you understand that you must. Especially if it concerns Narcissa."

"Of course. She is my dearest little sister. With Andromeda not even a member of our house; it was the only thing that could be done."

"What is it, then?"

"Narcissa is engaging in inappropriate relations that will severely damage her chances with the Malfoy heir."

Druella Black's expression could not have been more shocked than if Bellatrix had informed her that Narcissa had died.

"Not my Narcissa!"

"The very same. Now, I am reasonably well acquainted with Lucius," (and Bellatrix grimaced for a second, which demonstrated just _how_ well-acquainted she was), "and he does _not _appreciate philandering."

"How have you come to learn of this?"

Bellatrix gravely informed of her eyewitness accounts. Druella's expression had changed to one of stern resolve.

"Please do not allow my name to be mentioned or suspected. It is better for me to keep an eye on her."

"Of course, my darling Bella."

Soon afterward, Mrs. Druella Black walked into the Potions dungeon classroom at the time when Bellatrix had suggested. She found Narcissa locked in a tight embrace with Severus Snape, whom she immediately recognized.

"You! Half-blood son of a Muggle!"

Snape stepped away from Narcissa, looking clearly affronted.

"My blood is as pure as yours!"

Druella laughed a mocking laugh, and continued –

"I know well that your father was _Tobias Snape_, a mudblood. How dare you have the _audacity_ to put your hands on my daughter, the product of two _pureblood lines_ of Black and Rosier? Especially when she has already been promised in marriage to another? To approach under the auspices of education and take advantage of an _innocent_ girl in such a ghastly manner. To be fair, it is no less than something I would expect from someone of _your_ tainted lineage, _princeling_. I hereby _forbid_ you to speak to my daughter ever again and –"

"But mother, he teaches me potions –"

"With all the _teaching_ he's been doing, I'll be speaking to Professor Slughorn –"

"But – I don't mind that…"

"Of course you don't mind, you silly girl. What do you know of family honor and class? How do you expect to go when you act this way? What would Lucius Malfoy think if he knew that his fiancé was behaving like a regular painted trollop? What would your father think –? "

"But Bellatrix told me that –"

"You'd do well to listen to what Bellatrix tells you. I don't want any more interruptions, young lady."

Druella turned her icy eyes towards Snape.

"And _you_. If you go within five feet of my daughter _ever_ again, I will make sure that no remnant of you is ever found again."

Snape merely turned his heel and disappeared, his robes billowing behind him.

Narcissa scurried out after dipping down and kissing her mother's hand.

Sirius was waiting in Bellatrix's quarters. Bellatrix looked at the clock expectantly. She opened her perfectly shaped lips for a moment –

"Five, four, three, two – and there she'll be…"

Bellatrix was interrupted by a knock on the door. Sirius got up elegantly and opened it, taking note of Narcissa's surprise upon seeing her _Gryffindor_ cousin. Sirius arched a handsome eyebrow, and quipped,

"You were expecting Regulus?"

Narcissa quivered, and stammered out a reply,

"No, but I thought that you were like Andromeda, the _black_ sheep of the Black family."

Sirius grimaced ruefully, but somewhere in his expression, there was a twinge of regret that the statement _wasn't_ true. He cleverly hid it, and once more assumed his charming, flirtatious manner.

The blonde gave a nervous laugh at her own joke. Bellatrix merely glared at her sister in exasperation. However, when she spoke, her voice was silky sweet and tender.

"What is it, dear sister?"

"Oh – Mama found out about Severus. She had come to deliver the chocolates for my birthday – _my birthday_, and she walked into the Potions classroom. She was absolutely furious, something about Lucius as my fiancé, it was terrible Bella."

Narcissa was practically in tears by now. Sirius looked at her complacently; laughing slightly that Lucius Malfoy was betrothed to such a simpering pool of maidenhood.

"Now, now dear, this is a misfortune that could befall any of us. I have already made arrangements for how you two can continue meeting without Mama knowing. Furthermore, we'll figure something out for the holidays."

Narcissa almost crushed Bellatrix with the hug she gave her. Bellatrix carefully extricated Narcissa's arms from her body, and gave Narcissa a limpid smile.

Sirius left the two sisters alone, making his way back to Gryffindor tower. At times, he thought, he felt _almost_ remorseful for his transgressions. Especially when he thought of Annette Delacour.

Bellatrix was a young lady of thirteen, or so she fancied herself. Lately, she had her eye on the new Slytherin prefect. He was taller than her, which was no easy feat, as she had grown again. Sometimes, when the houses were gathered at mealtimes, she would lazily glance past her housemates and at him. She couldn't quite see him properly, because he was always surrounded by his ridiculous bodyguards, Mobbe and Foil, or so she had dubbed them because she could not be bothered to remember their names. She pursed her lips ruefully at this realization, as she could picture her mother scolding her for not acknowledging other pureblood families properly.

Not that it would be very difficult to make her family happy, now that Andromeda had gotten herself sorted into Ravenclaw and Sirius had done the unthinkable and was now a proud member of Gryffindor. At least he had the decency to look miserable at mealtimes until that horrible James Potter had taken pity on him. Apparently the two had met on the train and discovered that both their families were members of the Concillarium. By the time she had come out from her reverie, her year mate Rosalyn Travers was looking at her with a concerned expression.

"Bella, you haven't eaten anything."

Rosalyn looked in the direction of Bellatrix's gaze, and found her target.

"Oh, so you've noticed him as well. He's absolutely gorgeous, isn't he?"

Bellatrix was displeased, mainly because she felt that Rosalyn was prettier than herself. She had pretty green eyes and always looked mysterious.

"Yes, he's very attractive," responded Bellatrix rather curtly.

"I've heard that his father is very well-respected in the ministry. My brother Cade has met him before, at those meetings," murmured Rosalyn, as if Bellatrix was an equally privileged member of the club. In a sense, she was right, but Bellatrix did feel that the entire Council of Fourteen principle had entirely backfired on her. Her father was the second brother of the family, and had married a _Rosier_, who had lost favor with the Council some centuries ago because of some indiscretion. Sirius' father was the eldest brother and had married one of his cousins, thus strengthening whatever claim he had in inheritance. It was true that her aunt and uncle had never mistreated her family, but they had received both Twelve Grimmauld Place _and_ the Black Family Estate in Scotland.

"_Your _cousin is very attractive as well," continued Rosalyn as though Bellatrix had responded to her earlier comments, "It's too bad that he has to sit all the way with the Gryffindors."

Bellatrix resumed staring the direction of Lucius Malfoy. It was fortunate that the girls in his year were not particularly attractive. At least, Alecto Carrow looked nothing like her younger sister, Lena. Her mother would certainly speculate that patriarch Nethun Carrow had taken a mistress and sired Lena or Leandrene as she was properly named, but who knew what happened in pureblood marriages after all?

Whether Lucius had finally noticed that he was being examined and discussed or he really wanted to introduce himself to the other house members, he suddenly rose and strode over to where Bellatrix and Rosalyn were sitting at the long table. He looked first at Rosalyn, of course, as Bellatrix had expected.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Lucius Malfoy."

Rosalyn giggled and Bellatrix stared disapprovingly at her. The green eyed minx stretched out a white arm towards Lucius,

"I'm Rosalyn Travers. I think you've met my elder brother Cade at your funny Concillarium meetings."

Lucius smiled, for he took pride in his families' standing.

"And you, I would guess that you are a Black."

"Does it show so plainly?" asked Bellatrix, surprised at her own courage.

"I would know that haughty smile anywhere. Tell me, how do you think dear Sirius will fare when Uncle Orion finds out that he's in Gryffindor?"

Bellatrix smiled ruefully,

"Probably just as father acted when Andromeda was sorted into Ravenclaw, a birch rod."

She didn't even notice how it was a starchy-sounding "_Andromeda_" now, rather than the sweet diminutive _Andy_. When they were children, they looked nearly identical, down to their haughty cheekbones and heavily lidded eyes that were so unusual on young children. To Bellatrix's great amusement, it seemed the Lucius nodded his head at the sound of the word birch rod, so she did not know what she thought of the honored Abraxas Malfoy.

"No one in our family has ever been sorted outside Slytherin," pointed out Rosalyn, noting that she was quite left out from the conversation.

"How fortunate," noted Lucius, his eyes still on Bellatrix.

Dinner had already finished, and Rosalyn, though coquettish, was quick to notice when her presence was no longer desired. They stood up and Bellatrix was pleased to find that she could look up at Lucius.

In the hallway between the Great Hall and the Slytherin dungeons—Sirius was surprised to find his brother—who was leaving from what sounded like a disastrous Potions' lesson. Regulus's ordinarily immaculate robes were dyed some ghastly color, and he was nursing several burns. Typically, Sirius would use this opportunity to taunt the younger Black, but Regulus looked so plaintive that he didn't have the heart.

"It wasn't my fault, Sirius. Barty _Crouch_'s son was responsible for everything—and Slughorn always ignores whatever wrong he does because his _father_ is so high up in the Ministry," complained Regulus.

"Well, everyone knows that he's a shortsighted ignoramus."  
"Yes, and his _sister_ came to collect him from Potions because they had to go do something important for the Ministry. I saw them leaving with Abraxas Malfoy and his son, that blond-haired boy," continued Regulus—noticing that Sirius's interest was clearly piqued at the mention of Barty Crouch's sister.


	4. Preparations

_**Chapter Four: Preparations**_

"He will pay for what he has done," remarked Sirius, his eyes darkening in anger. James decided to tread carefully around the problem.

"It was really helpful for you to give me so much information about it. But I'm glad that _whatever _it is—it's made you forget about this stupid Cornelia Crouch bet."

James' hazel eyes twinkled in merriment. Sirius himself became slightly more lighthearted with James jesting.

"Oh—but it hasn't! You just want me to stop annoying Lily's friends so that she'll give you the time of day."

It was now James's turn to embarrassed.

"In any case, _he_ is my dear friend Lucius, but the _she_ who will pay is my dear cousin."

"Bellatrix?" asked James hopefully, knowing of the erstwhile romance between the current Head Girl and the past Slytherin Prefect. James had always found Sirius' relationship with his cousin infuriating and largely puzzling, and hoped that one day Sirius would come to his senses. It was an open secret that Bellatrix would be joining Lord Voldemort upon her rapidly approaching graduation from Hogwarts—and James only hoped that Sirius would not do the same.

"You wish."

With this appropriately mysterious answer, Sirius disappeared from the Gryffindor Boys' dormitory.

* * *

"Hello Trixie," remarked Sirius Black, as his handsome form glided across her floor.

"Hello…damnit, I can't make a ridiculous form of your name. You know how I hate being called Trixie."

"That is because I am not ridiculous, my love."

"You are _always_ ridiculous."

Impulsively, Sirius kissed Bellatrix.

"Don't worry; I'm saving it for your dear sister."

For a moment, it seemed that Bellatrix would prefer that it would not be _saved_ for her sister, but she soon smiled, and gave a nod towards the door. On cue, it opened, revealing the Narcissa Black.

"Oh, Bella, I have _so_ much to tell you." Her eyes glanced towards Sirius. Once more, she wondered just _what_ went on between her beautiful sister and her handsome cousin. Bellatrix smiled, as though she understood her younger sisters' thoughts.

"My darling Cissa, Sirius is here at my request. He will aid our mission."

"Our…mission?"

"Yes, my dear sister. As you recall, we agreed to carry correspondence between you and, _Severus_," forced out Bellatrix, as though it was quite distasteful to refer to Narcissa's boyfriend by his first name. Sirius was merely calm and elegant, betraying no whit of his emotions.

"Oh, Bellatrix, you are my true sister."

For a moment, Bellatrix was afraid that Narcissa would bestow her with another hug, that dreaded bastion of affection, but she desisted.

Sirius spoke for the first time since Narcissa had entered.

"Here is a letter from Severus."

Narcissa, recognizing that Sirius and Severus were _less_ than friends, looked upon the ornate envelope skeptically.

"Severus would never give such a letter to you."

Sirius smirked. He gave a condescending glare to his cousin, and arched an elegant eyebrow.

"He wrote it here, so he didn't need to give it to me."

Bellatrix, who appeared to be taking pity on her younger sister, added,

"You don't need to read it here, if you don't feel comfortable, dear. We'll send you an owl if the need arises."

* * *

The next morning, Narcissa received a letter from a beautiful tawny owl she recognized as Bellatrix's.

_My Darling Narcissa_,

_I hope your last letter brought you a great deal of joy and satisfaction. I understand that this was Severus' intent when he was writing the letter. So that my dear sister and my favorite couple may be able to enjoy greater happiness in their relationship, I suggest that you go to the lovely room across from the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy on the Seventh Floor at eight o'clock this evening._

_All my love,_

_Bellatrix_

Narcissa was about to pen a reply that stated her resounding assent, but soon realized that however saccharine sweet her sister may sound, when she "suggested" something, it was nothing short of an order. However, her unchecked enthusiasm was dampened by the subsequent owl she received.

_Narcissa,_

_I have heard from Bellatrix that you are no longer gallivanting with that dreadful boy, Spate. I was very gladdened by this news. Now, my dear, I would be very pleased if you could meet with Lucius tomorrow morning. I shall be arriving at seven o'clock, promptly, and whisk you away to Malfoy Manor. You must remember that this is a very fine match, my dear._

_Love,_

_Druella Rosier Black_

* * *

Severus Snape was, for the second time that week, in the private quarters of Bellatrix Black. He was rather pleased about the influence he appeared to exercise over one of the most influential girls at school. Today, she seemed particularly pleased with herself.

"Why, Severus, you do not seem to be as sure of yourself today as you usually are."

"Well, I have not spoken to Narcissa in a long time."

"That should not matter," replied Bellatrix, rather bitterly. It was exactly what had always happened to her, the confidence, powerful woman was passed over for a simpering, serving, _innocent_ girl.

Severus soon realized what a faux pas he had made. He attempted to rectify it,

"Oh, it's not that I don't like spending time with you, only that I am afraid for Narcissa."

"Is that so?"

"Of course. You are much more experienced and _satisfying _than she."

"Very well, you may write her as soon as you like. You are dismissed."

Narcissa did not take much notice of this announcement, but merely filed away this information. From across the room, Sirius was taking more careful notice of the Slytherin table than was customary. Remus noticed, and waved a hand conspicuously in front of his friend's face.

"Now, I know that we're going to prank Snape today, but there's no need to be quite so obvious about it," remarked Remus, jibing his friend.

"Oh, I'm afraid that there has never been a prank quite as brilliant as the one today," replied Sirius rather darkly. His handsome face was filled with mischievous enthusiasm, but the happiness was marred by an emotion that Remus had never seen on his friend's visage, and could not quite place.

"I would hardly call it such, it's merely one of the old standbys, right Sirius?" continued Remus, confused.

"But this old standby is far older than one might suspect. It dates back to the times of Caesar, my dear history buff," answered Sirius even more inexplicably. Once again, there was a flash of something in his light grey eyes.

"I don't think Caesar dyed his enemies' cloaks bright pink, Sirius," laughed Remus, expecting a similar response from his dark-haired friend.

"Is that what you thought the prank was? I had hoped to save you from this, my dear Remus."


	5. Innocence Denied

_**Chapter Five: Innocence Denied**_

It was not an act that Sirius often dreamed of when he was a child. It was an act that Sirius never really wanted to do, but the more often he engaged in it, the more pleasurable it became. It was as though he were stabbing someone in the same place multiple times. Each time, it was more painful, but easier. Sirius wondered when_he_ had been the victim, rather than the perpetrator.

And then, somewhere in his tortured adolescent mind, he was once again eleven years old. To be eleven, and eager to achieve what is expected with no effort at all.

"Have you packed for Hogwarts, Sirius?" asked Walburga Black, his elderly mother.

"Of course, mother," replied Sirius respectfully – more respectfully than he had in years past. His younger brother Regulus clung to his side like a life-sized leech.

"Sirius, you must tell me all about Hogwarts."

"Every moment, don't worry," reassured Sirius, laughing at his younger brother.

"When you are sorted into Slytherin, and when you place a frog in Bellatrix's bed."

"Mother won't like that I'm doing such things to Bellatrix. Mother _loves_ Bellatrix," added Sirius rather bitterly, as though he were denied a privilege saved for his elder cousin.

Regulus stared at his elder brother in a confused manner. Nine was too young to face such harsh realities. To be sure, eleven was too young, but truth did not wait for adulthood.

"No Sirius, you _must_ prank Bellatrix. You must prank everyone, and tell me all about it."

That was one piece of advice that Sirius heartily followed. The Black family, stately in their somber elegance, arrived at the King's Cross Station, and before Sirius knew what was afoot, he was aboard the express train. Narcissa was there, of course, her glinting blonde hair tied efficiently behind her neck. Sirius had always been annoyed by Narcissa; her insipid demeanor was even more bothersome than Bellatrix's arrogance. Andromeda had learned to avoid her family; the taint of Ravenclaw did not bode well for the second year. Oddly enough, Sirius thought, Andromeda _was_ always the most sensible of the three.

On the train, he ran into a red-haired girl with a greasy-haired boy who was surveying the compartments of the train. They were arguing about a song—or maybe it was a person. The boy said something like, "You'd better be in Slytherin."

An untidy-haired boy in the compartment, who Sirius vaguely recognized, responded arrogantly, "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

It was only a second later that Sirius recognized that the question was directed at him. He blushed a bright red, and responded,

"My whole family have been in Slytherin."

He didn't mention that his favorite cousin was not—and that it was her fate that he dreaded most. The boy mentioned something about him seeming alright, and Sirius grew a bit more sure of himself—of course—it was much easier, given that he was away from the morose character of Twelve Grimauld Place.

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

"Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!"

The conversation continued between the untidy-haired boy and the red-haired girl, the greasy-haired boy occasionally interjecting. As the train moved further—Sirius' dread only grew greater.

They had arrived. They crossed the lake in boats. It was the time for the sorting, the time for him to join his forefathers in Slytherin.

Sirius wandered after his year-mates through the halls of Hogwarts, drinking in every single ornate decoration. _This_, more than any other edifice, would become his home. That is what he had learned from his more interesting relatives, including Uncle Alfie, who persisted in reminiscing about each and every time _he_ had received a detention. Not that Sirius minded, of course. To be completely honest, Sirius was afraid. As dark and forbidding Number 12 Grimmauld Place was, it _was_ his home. Hogwarts could never replace it – he wouldn't allow it!

"Black, Sirius."

He did not get up immediately. Was that _his_ name being uttered? Must he go place that filthy hat on his head? He walked, (an arrogant stride, it seemed, to everyone else) up to the stool, and placed the hat on his head.

"Why, another Black. I know where _you'll_ go, to Slytherin of course."

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief. For once, he would be exactly the way his family wanted him to be, and for that he was grateful. He almost left the stool – but was interrupted by the hat's voice in his head.

"Actually, you're not like them at all. You've got the arrogance, and the sneakiness, but deep inside, you've got bravery that no one suspects."

Sirius' eyes grew wide in shock. _He was not like his family_. Rather than protest, he merely allowed the hat to continue speaking.

"I'm afraid that your daring isn't a Slytherin quality either. Why, it was only Godric who would dare outwardly challenge his foes. In any case, it'd better be –

GRYFFINDOR!"

His light grey eyes stared across the Great Hall towards the Slytherin table. There was Narcissa, sitting contentedly with her elder sister Bellatrix. That was where he should sit. That was where he was _destined_ to sit. But his legs, controlled by a power outside of him, were walking determinedly toward the Gryffindor table. Step by unwilling step, he approached his destiny.

A voice, not the hat of course, since its moth-eaten remains had been removed from his handsome head, spoke to Sirius.

_Only fools run from destiny. The strong embrace it_.

His gait became faster, more purposeful. He sat down at the Gryffindor table, triumphant. And stopped looking at his cousins.

At home it was a different story entirely. For the first time, Sirius felt the birch rod snap across his back, his father and his mother alternating in their torture. He was no longer loved.

But Sirius had decided that he did not need to be loved.

He continued to watch the sorting—wondering where the boys on the train and the red-haired girl would go. But it seemed that they were rather later alphabetically. Instead a small girl with brown, thatched hair went up when the Sorting Hat had yelled,

"Crouch, Cornelia."

The name rung a bell in his head—or maybe it was that the Cornelia itself seemed rather truncated—as thought it was meant to be Cornelius. She was sorted into Ravenclaw, so Sirius took no additional notice of her for the time.

* * *

At the next family Christmas, he had gone up to his cousin Bellatrix. Thirteen years old, and already stunning. She glared at him as though he were not fit to wipe her shoes. And in the eyes of his family, he really wasn't. Still, he stepped closer. Close enough so she could no longer ignore his confident pose.

"What do you want, blood traitor?"

She expected the remark to deflect him, even frighten him, but she did not seem to know Sirius Black as well as she thought she did. He continued staring at her complacently, but the complacency was marred by the confidence in his eyes. It was the confidence that made her notice him. Very few had the nerve to stand up to Bellatrix Black. Eleven year old Sirius Black finally spoke,

"I want that which you already have."

"And what is that, you fool?"

"Power."

A moment earlier, and he might have said "Love", but he realized that Bellatrix Black was not, and would never be, loved.

"Not so much a fool, then."

That was how it had begun, of course. A simple request, from a complex person. It was not long before Sirius had started his frequent visits to Bellatrix. He was only thirteen.

"Quite the popular boy, aren't you?" asked Bellatrix, almost sneering at her younger cousin. Sirius merely shrugged. He was used to her pathetic taunts.

"You know you could be much more than you are now."

"Was that meant to be inspirational?"

"Merely derogatory, my cousin."

"Only fools confuse the meaning of a simple statement, my dear Bellatrix."

And Bellatrix, his cold, shadow-faced cousin, had done the unthinkable.

She had kissed him.

It was his first kiss, and a travesty that this moment should be with his manipulative, recklessly attractive cousin. That a moment of purity should be twisted to become incestuous was exceptionally sad.

* * *

As Sirius thought about now, he was certainly the victim then. Since then, his strange relationship with his eldest cousin had aided his position in the family, allowing him to regain what standing he had lost. He didn't need to follow their outdated belief system, because _Bellatrix_, queen of the damned, was willing to vouch for him. His elegant form was resting on the couch in the Gryffindor common room. He was dressed in sleek, black silk robes, his hair combed to perfection, falling gracefully into his eyes. It was seven-fifty-two. Time to go.

James watched Sirius leave from the stairs leading down from the boys' dormitory. Athletic James Potter knew his best friend very well; _too_ well some idiots would joke. However, there was one part of Sirius' life that neither James nor Remus was ever a part of: his family. He knew more than Remus did, of course. He knew of Sirius' strange relationship with Bellatrix, his odd fascination with winning (rather than wooing) girls, and the recent bet. Sirius' expression was one of determination, which could be seen at every Quidditch game when Sirius played beater. It was the robes that worried James.

Sirius wore the same robes every time he dumped a girl. They were incredibly expensive, matching his form perfectly. The intent was that he would lead the girl to believe that _this time_ was different. But really, James mused, it never was. The feelings of Sirius' girlfriends never worried James; it was the fact that he didn't have a girlfriend right then.

Narcissa Black was, for lack of a better word, preening. Her reflective blonde hair was shining in a manner that was more pleasing than usual, and she had taken care to wear midnight blue robes that complemented her eyes. She really should be saving those for _tomorrow_, rather than tonight. But somehow, Bellatrix's letter had conveyed a sense of delectable anticipation that was not present in her mother's dry correspondence.

She took one last glance at her mirror, and left.

Sirius waited patiently at the door to the Room of Requirement. Inside were thousands of brilliant candles, encircling a single canopied bed. However, the curtains to the bed were different from his own in one way. They were not red and gold, but red and black. Since he was clad in black, they matched rather perfectly. It was seven-fifty-nine. He knew that no child of _Lady_ Druella Rosier Black would dare to be late. Even in his head, his aunt's false title sounded ridiculous.

Soon enough, a blonde head appeared at the end of the hall. He held out an arm in greeting. Narcissa gingerly took the elegantly proffered arm, and came into the room.

"Where's Bellatrix?"

"In hell, where she belongs," replied Sirius, jestingly. Although, in retrospect, it seemed to be more or less accurate. Narcissa slapped him in response.

"How dare you say such things about my sister!"

"How dare _I_? I probably know her better than you do."

"Do not say such things."

"I am not insinuating anything."

Narcissa was practically in tears now. Her carefully (however badly) applied makeup was in streaks from holding her face in her hands.

"Of course you are! You are implying less than honorable relations between you and my sister."

"I'd never bed Andromeda."

Narcissa almost laughed against her will. Sirius always _was_ amusing.

"Now, why did Bellatrix want this to happen? This will certainly _not_ help things between Severus and me."

Sirius gave a short laugh like a bark. His handsome features were mocking Narcissa's naiveté.

"Do you call it "Severus and me"?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Only that Severus is not yours alone."

The blonde waif stood up a bit taller.

"Of course he is."

"Perhaps he loves you only, but it will take a great deal more to satisfy, _Snivellus_."

"Do not call him such a distasteful name! He is worth ten of you, Sirius, although you call yourself my cousin."

Sirius merely smiled a content, confident, maddening smile.

"Is he really dissatisfied, Sirius? I did not want it to be so."

"My dear child, it does not have to be so."

"How can I help it?"

The dark haired Gryffindor took a few steps back from his light haired Slytherin cousin. He cocked his head appraisingly.

"Narcissa, how would you look attractive?"

"I _am_ attractive."

"Damnit, you're my _cousin_. Still, make an attractive pose." Somehow, the limitations that seemed so easily surmountable with Bellatrix—wonderful—otherwordly Bellatrix—loomed even more dauntingly with Narcissa.

"Lovely, my dear. Disrobe."

Immediately, Narcissa covered her still-clothed form with her hands. _How could he make such a disgraceful request_?

"Never!"

"Then Bellatrix will have to tell dear Aunt Druella some more details of your lovely relationship with Severus."

Narcissa's eyes widened, their pale blues growing even paler still.

"She wouldn't!"

"Of course she would. If you think otherwise, then I am correct. I _do_ know your sister better than you do."

The trapped young Slytherin leaned back into the corner of the tapestry that adorned the corner. It depicted a picture of Antigone, weeping for her brothers, who had slain each other.

"What do you want?"

"A single kiss."

Narcissa breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of course."

Sirius smiled a cruel smile, causing his cousin to shudder. He sat down upon the canopied bed, and waited.

"That is not a kiss, silly."

He laughed and replied,

"What is that word that Muggles use when they are purchasing a home?"

* * *

The next morning, at six-fifty, Narcissa stumbled out of the Room of Requirement, and ran the flights of stairs down to the Slytherin dungeons. Her blonde hair, so carefully brushed, was tangled, and her best robes were mussed, to say the least. She stopped when she heard the careful tread of her mother.

"Narcissa! I expected you to be quite ready by now!"

"Oh mother, I was in the library, studying. I've got a paper due soon."

"That's alright, just put on some better robes."

Narcissa turned to run, but soon remembered her manners, and knelt down in front of her mother, and kissed her extended hand.

* * *

(1) Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. Her brothers had killed each other when fighting for control of their father's kingdom, even though they were to take turns ruling over it. I think it is quite easy to see how this is relevant, for the Room of Requirement is always very apt.

In the next chapter, we introduce Rodolphus Lestrange as the Chevalier de Belleroche…. The majority of the chapter is a flashback.


	6. Mistakes

_**Chapter Six: Mistakes**_

Bellatrix was thoughtful, something that was very rare in her world. She had just spent a single night with another sad admirer. He was rather monotonous, and she had preferred Lucius, but did not dare admit it. Another Hogwarts graduate, Rodolphus Lestrange, had accompanied Lucius when he had arrived the previous time. To be quite honest, Bellatrix had been surprised.

Lucius had entered her quarters with his usual supercilious air, disregarding everything around him. Bellatrix had sneered at him, refusing to play the part of the simpering tart that he had once called her. Behind his blonde-haired form, a confident, brown-haired man entered.

"Bellatrix, this is my friend, Rodolphus."

Bellatrix had fluttered her eyelashes carefully, and stared up at Rodolphus with a sweet smile on her face. Lucius, who was well-acquainted with her tricks, merely frowned, but Rodolphus seemed particularly enthralled.

"Oh, it is a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Rodolphus returned her intimations by brushing his lips against her upturned hand.

"It is always my pleasure to meet a beautiful lady."

Bellatrix thought for a moment that this ought to make her feel faint, and lighthearted with joy, but it didn't. Although Rodolphus seemed to be everything that she wanted, she was not satisfied. Her coy attitude vanished, and she became the cold, hard creature that everyone expected her to be. Lucius Malfoy's mouth curled as he glanced at his former girlfriend. He looked over to his friend and whispered loudly,

"Don't worry, she's always like _this_. We'll go find some proper Slytherin girls in a bit."

Rodolphus merely nodded, and the two disappeared.

For one of the first times in her life, Bellatrix Black felt somewhat shafted. She was _not_ always like that, for there was a time, not so long ago, when she had realized something. Back when she had actually felt something for someone, but it had not helped her at all.

* * *

She was at most thirteen years old. Her hair was pulled back, and shiny, the way Narcissa and Andromeda liked it. Andromeda had been a very adorable little sister, and they had been friends only a few years earlier. Her Metamorphagus powers allowed her to transform into _anyone_, which made her an ideal aide for pranks. However, since she had been sorted into Ravenclaw, the clever little girl had become aloof and distant from her family, especially her elder sister Bellatrix. Bella had tossed her head when Andromeda did not sit next to her for the first time that Christmas dinner. Narcissa was a fine substitute, she thought.

Next to Bellatrix was Narcissa on one side and Lucius Malfoy on the other. Lucius was already preening his long, blonde hair, and Bellatrix thought that he and her younger sister looked comically similar. Nevertheless, they made for boring conversation, despite the fact that Lucius was her boyfriend. In Bellatrix's attempt to find interest elsewhere, her light blue eyes glanced across the room. There was her aunt and uncle, the dreadful creatures, and her placid cousin Regulus. Next to him was another boy, who looked like him, but seemed to exude a much more confident air. His elegant black hair was tousled, and a single strand seemed to have fallen over his eyes.

But it seemed that he was just as bored and annoyed at Christmas dinner as she, for at that very moment, he twisted his head around to glance at the room in exasperation. His grey eyes darkened when they rested upon her, and with a disdainful look, he returned to his meal.

It was Sirius, of course.

From that moment, Bellatrix Black adored her younger cousin in a way that she did not think right. She basked in his confident glow, and found him more attractive than her own boyfriend. Perhaps one could call it love, but she preferred to call it an obsession. That very dinner, he had come over and asked her something. She had tried to ignore him, afraid that _someone_ would guess the truth, but she couldn't. And what he had said made her adore him even more.

"I want that which you already have."

"And what is that, you fool?" The acerbic words had fallen from her tongue before she could stop them, for she _never_ wanted to insult him.

"Power."

* * *

Bellatrix never thought for a moment that he would say "love", because as everyone believed, Bellatrix Black had never loved, and would never be loved. But they were quite wrong. Even though he was a Gryffindor, a blood traitor, a cocky Quidditch Player, everything she quite despised, he was a confident little berk, and it endeared him to her. He never guessed it, of this Bella was certain. She was quite sure that it had surprised him when his first kiss was with her. But the thing that had hurt her even more than his surprise was his displeasure. The first words he said after the kiss was,

"Bellatrix, why did you do that?"

"You looked very kissable just then, my dear."

"Honestly, Bella, you have no sense of propriety."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. Or were you afraid that I would judge your first kiss."

Sirius had laughed at that, but turned a pale red just the same.

"That was _not_ my first kiss."

"I don't believe you."

"Fine. But let me tell you something, _Trixie_, it means nothing. Because our relationship is not one of trust, or love, or even desire. It is one of convenience."

Bellatrix blinked a tear away at his words, but her smooth, sleek, taunting voice replied,

"Whose convenience, my darling? I am quite sure that I am _inconvenienced_ by what you have to bring to the table. Or shall we say, to the bedroom?"

"_My_ convenience."

And he had left, his arrogant stride drawing him out of her room. Bellatrix hated him more at that instant than she had ever hated anything before. She had _loved_him, the way he called her "Trixie" because he thought it annoyed her, the way he insulted Slytherin's to her face, the way he hexed Lucius Malfoy whenever possible. Oh, how _foolish_ she was, to think that this impulsive adoration was love! There was no love, only manipulation, and that was where she was particularly skilled.

There was another knock on the door. Bellatrix's knees trembled. What if he had returned?

"Who is it?"

"Your darling lover."

"Come in, Lucius."

Lucius surveyed his girlfriend carefully. Her cheeks were tinged red, and her face seemed drawn.

"What's wrong, my sweet Bella."

"Oh, nothing."

"Was someone here?"

"No one that matters."

"Was it Sirius?"

Her lips curled into a cruel, unfeeling smile.

"Like I said before, no one that matters."

In the next several months, Bellatrix Black exacted her revenge. It was not the sort of revenge that is directed at the cause. It was a revenge that seethed through her every action and destroyed others in its wake. The first thing she did was dump Lucius Malfoy. He was amazed, to say the least.

"Bella, what have _I_ done?"

"Oh come on Lucius, we never actually cared for each other."

His eyes were suddenly serious, and he grabbed her by the shoulders and made her face him.

"Who says that?"

"I do, you idiot."

"_I_ cared. But that doesn't matter, does it?"

* * *

A week ago, when she thought she knew what that meant, she might have cared. But it didn't matter now. A day later, she began dating a Slytherin named Miles Bulstrode. He lasted a week, and then she moved on. It became the same pattern, not even limited to the Slytherin house. Bellatrix smiled ruefully at herself, she was becoming something of a "player", a distinction she found rather distasteful. Although, she thought, she would _never_ date a Hufflepuff.

The second thing that she did was pay frequent visits to the house-elves at Hogwarts. At first they were delighted to serve her, for she was already a prefect, and a darling of nearly all the Professors.

"Why Miss Bellatrix, madam, it is the fourth time this week," chirped the tiny elf when Bella sauntered in and demanded a selection of éclairs.

"Did I request your opinion?" barked Bella; she had no time for such frivolities from a creature half her size.

"No, madam."

"Then take care not to provide it, and bring out the éclairs."

The revolting creatures, were of course, correct. Each time she saw a flash of those mesmerizing grey eyes, or the handsome physique, she rushed to the kitchens and tickled the pear, as odd as it seemed. For the next month, although her nights were spent in delightful agony with the male of her choice, her days were spent hoping for another tender morsel of last meal's scrumptious dessert.

Her frequent meals were also apt to cut into her ordinary working time. Professor Slughorn, who had previously doted upon the beautiful girl from a pureblood family, soon found her work lacking.

"Bellatrix, if I may speak with you for a moment?"

"Of course, Professor, for you only need to ask," replied the cheeky girl, regaining her sharp tongue temporarily.

"I have been disappointed in your potion construction lately. Why, today you added armadillo bile instead of shredded boomslang skin, a very serious mistake."

Bellatrix, who had not even taken the time to read her potions book before coming to class, merely sniffed disdainfully.

"I do not wish that a star student such as yourself become indolent. Why, you did not even meet the length requirement for the previous essay."

Bellatrix had stopped at six inches for the two foot essay.

"I forgave you because of your previous work, but I cannot show favoritism, my dear."

"Of course not, Professor."

"Now, you are still invited to the next Slug Club party, if you wish to find an escort."

"Thank you, Professor."

* * *

Oh, and what an escort he was. Lucius Malfoy, resplendent in envy green, was charmed to be on her arm, the most beautiful fifth year girl. Bellatrix was very vain about her appearance, having inherited the heavily lidded eyes that had made Druella Rosier Black one of the most sought after girls in _her_ time at Hogwarts, and the haughty Black looks from her father.

"Why, Bellatrix, you look simply stunning."

Bellatrix, who did not even have the grace to blush, merely clasped the proffered arm of the Malfoy heir, and strode down to the dungeon classroom. As usual, the classroom was adorned in a tent-like fabric, and tiny house-elves were offering refreshments and hors d'oeuvres at every corner. Her light blue robes swept the floor daintily as she strode down to Professor Slughorn, who nearly gaped at her as she entered.

"Shall we dance, my darling?"

"Of course"

And they twirled, all eyes upon them, and Bella basked in the glow of her pride.

They stopped dancing for a moment, and for a frightening instant, Bellatrix was underneath the mistletoe with Lucius. He didn't notice, and they passed towards the table when Professor Slughorn was standing.

"Bellatrix, Lucius, meet Miss Zabini. It _is_ Miss, not Mrs?" introduced Slughorn, somewhat unsure of the lady's title.

"Lady, perhaps," joked the beautiful woman. She was not only gorgeous, but appeared to be very expensive, as though a mere man would not be able to afford her.

"Miss Zabini graduated from Beauxbatons only two years ago," continued Slughorn, beaming upon the girl.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow as though to ask why she was distinctive, for she did not seem to be a high Ministry official. As though he had read her mind, Slughorn continued his introduction of Miss Zabini.

"Miss Zabini has been married and divorced three times since her graduation. She has also been on the cover of Witch Weekly four times."

"I model for Sleakeazy's, and Twilfitt and Tawtings," offered Miss Zabini, is a low, throaty voice.

"Whom did you marry?" asked Lucius, somewhat interestedly, his hand still entwined in Bellatrix's.

"Oh, some unnecessary, very wealthy, very old, men," smiled Miss Zabini, demonstrating her new wealth from the sparkles on her fingers. Her robes were pure silk, and a deep purple color, and whispered as she walked away.

Bellatrix's eyes grew round at the diamonds, and she went back to her conversation with Lucius.

A moment later, Professor Slughorn gave a whoop of joy, and everyone turned to see who had entered. It was James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Next to Sirius was a chestnut-haired waif who was clutching his arm as though her life depended on it. Sirius said a few words to James, and then made his way over to Bellatrix with the said waif dragging behind him.

"Hello, Sirius," greeted Bella. Lucius merely nodded his acknowledgment.

"_Cousin_ Bellatrix, this is my girlfriend, er…"

"Chauncey," offered the waif.

Bellatrix smirked at his inability to remember her name.

"Yes, Chauncey. Delightful name, isn't it? Very rare, I believe," added Sirius, smiling at his date. The waif blushed crimson and clutched tighter.

"Now, Chauncey, do get us a few drinks, won't you darling?"

"Of course, _Sirius_," replied Chauncey, her voice a throaty purr, much like that of Miss Zabini's. Bellatrix shuddered involuntarily.

"Cat got your tongue, Trixie? Or has Lucius finally done us all a favor and cut it out?"

"You think you're so funny, sauntering in here with that wisp of a girl?"

"Actually, she's rather lovely, if you hadn't noticed. Perfectly satisfactory in all the right places, if you catch my drift."

With that, Sirius turned his heel and gathered up Chauncey in his arms, beginning a very exuberant dance with her. If anyone had watched Bellatrix for the rest of the night, they might have said that she had lost her taste for entertainment shortly after meeting the little girl. But Bellatrix would have said that she needed to start her prefect duties, and couldn't be bothered by trifles.


	7. For Fun and Prophet

_**Chapter Seven**: **For Fun and Prophet**_

"Potter, Black, stop the horseplay right this instant," demanded Professor McGonagall, her stiff expression clearly disapproving.

"My darling Minerva, there is no necessity for such strong words," complained Sirius, a sad air about him.

"Why, Professor, we were simply testing the bounds of Transfiguration theory," continued James.

"It was _very_ funny, Professor," added Remus, finally piping in to help his friends.

They had turned Severus Snape into a small, green, bunny rabbit. Professor McGonagall shook her head, and gave a wave of her wand to reverse the spell.

"I will be speaking to both of you about the misuse of human transfiguration before your _detention_ tonight."

Sirius groaned, and he left the classroom with James, a disappointed expression on his face.

"We just gave him a furry little problem—" joked Sirius, with a meaningful glance at Remus, who glared at him in response.

As Lily and Cornelia walked from Transfiguration to the Great Hall, Cornelia was forced to hear Lily's tirade about their misuse of magic.

"…really, they have no respect about _anything_. To turn another student into an _animal_. Why, it is truly the basest form of a joke, and no one sees any humor in it anyway. When one is surrounded by such sycophants as they, basking in their Quidditch glory, not a care for the _lives_ of others less fortunate than they…"

"Oh Lily, do shut up," announced Cornelia, exasperated with her auburn-haired friend.

"You don't mean to say that – _you_ approve of their behavior?" asked Lily, her green eyes wide in surprise.

Cornelia very nearly laughed at the strange look on her friend's face, but stopped herself just in time.

"When one thinks about it, it was a _very_ good bit of Transfiguration, and Snape looked better as a green rabbit than he does otherwise…really more of a form of plastic surgery than anything else…" tried Cornelia, nearly cracking up at her sequence of lies.

"I don't think you should speak about Severus that way," said Lily.

"Well, _I_ don't know why you're still friends with him—with all his Death Eater buddies around! It's really too awful."

"Well, people aren't as they seem," said Lily cryptically.

* * *

The Ministry hearings about the new law had been nothing more than the rubber stamp, that much was certain to Cornelia. She and her brother had appeared next to her father as a press opportunity—look at the caring wizard with his family—who would we want more than to execute our laws? He had taken questions from the various reporters for a short period before leaving to "spend time with his family".

"Mr. Crouch—this move is unprecedented by the Ministry—what makes you think that you can reduce the rights that protect the accused."

Barty Crouch gave a little laugh.

"My dear—Miss Skeeter—it is hardly the case that we would call these people merely _accused_. These are the people that You-Know-Who has recruited to kill our families! Any moment that is spent where they are not behind bars is a moment wasted."

Rita Skeeter gave a smirk and continued writing quickly with her acid green quill.

Cornelia tensed at her father's answer. Didn't this go against what they had learned in History of Magic—that the very rights that Muggles had denied witches and wizards when they had been burned (true, those rights weren't precisely necessary in those circumstances, given the ease of escaping from those flimsy Muggle prisons)—were those that the Ministry was denying their own?

"What about where we place the accused once they are convicted—why should that be in control of the Dementors?"

Cornelia saw that the originator of the question was Albus Dumbledore, who had seen fit to leave his headmaster duties temporarily to ask this question.

"Albus, you know as well as I that the Dementors are those who keep us safe in our beds—why—it would be ludicrous to imagine our most dangerous prisoners being guarded by anyone else."

But her father looked a bit green after that query, and cut short the press conference rather prematurely. Once the reporters were gone, Cornelia knew that there would be no family time. Barty Crouch looked approvingly at his wife and bid his children adieu. Her little brother was looking slightly dismayed at being so forgotten. However, they did not waste any time asking unnecessary questions, and returned promptly to Hogwarts.

* * *

Sirius Black had decided that the best way to air his grievances was in person. He was dressed in his ordinary, casual robes, and was standing outside of the Divination classroom. He was not in Divination, nor did he have any desire to take it, but there was no place he'd rather be. Out of the classroom came a group of students, including the indubitable Sophie—who looked annoyed that Sirius did not even appear to recognize her.

"Hello, Cornelia."

The brunette witch looked flustered, which was always a good sign.

"Oh, hi Sirius."

"Fancy seeing me here, isn't it?"

"Well, it _is_ a surprise, is it not?"

"Is it a pleasant surprise, my dear?"

Her eyes narrowed. She was thinking of the Ministry hearings.

"Pleasant enough I suppose."

"You _suppose_?" he mocked, sidling up next to her.

"What else am I to do?"

"Glance fondly upon the very handsome young man who has decided to pay you a visit?"

"I don't think handsomeness is neither here nor there. I suppose you have read the Daily Prophet and have come to bother me about it?"

* * *

_POWER HUNGRY CROUCH EVADES QUESTIONS ABOUT NEW LAW_

Rita Skeeter

At the hearings earlier this week, Head of Magical Law Enforcement Bartemius Crouch declined to explain his radical change to the process afforded witches and wizards who are eventually incarcerated in Azkaban. Although the head of the Wizengamot (and batty Headmaster of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft & Wizardry) Albus Dumbledore questioned the law further and appeared reluctant to follow it—even in the narrow cases for which it was designed—Barty Crouch had no responses for anyone.

It seems that Barty Crouch is no longer content with being merely head of DMLE, and has his eyes set on Minister Bagnold's position. While the Minister is known for being even-handed, people have questioned whether she is strong enough to read the wizarding world through this trying time—whether she is willing to do what it takes to stop You-Know-Who. Barty Crouch is determined to prove that _he_ does.

* * *

And Cornelia gave one last scathing glance at Sirius, and began walking away,

"Cornelia?"

She flipped around so that her hair snapped against her face.

"What is it now?"

"Are you doing anything during the next Hogsmeade visit?"

* * *

"Oi, James, I want a favor," started Sirius, stretching out in his bed so he covered nearly the length of it with his tall frame.

"What is it?"

"What's darling Lily doing on Saturday?"

"At Hogsmeade, you mean?"

"No, at the circus. Of course at Hogsmeade, I'm not completely daft, you know."

James laughed at his dark-haired friend.

"If you want us to walk with them because of Cornelia, you can just say the word."

"If you think that…"

"If I think _what_, Sirius? Maybe that I'm hoping that you're going to drop the Cornelia issue? What is the reward for your bet with Bellatrix anyway?"

Sirius was strangely silent at this question.

"James, I am not such a man. In any case, is Lily having that delightful Christmas party again?"

"Lily doesn't have that, _I_ do. You know, at my house in Godric's Hollow."

"No, but I want Lily to have it this year."

"Why?"

"Then Cornelia will _have_ to come, and she can't flee when she sees me."

"Have you frightened her so?"

Sirius threw a large, down pillow at his best friend, and it was all out war after that.

* * *

Sirius was pacing around Bellatrix's room. He kept muttering to himself and making odd gestures with his hands. Bellatrix appeared at the door and watched him for a moment before making her presence known.

"Do you always talk to yourself?"

"Only on Wednesdays."

"How fortunate for me."

"Indeed"

"I wish you to visit me on any day but Wednesday."

"Certainly. I shall arrive promptly at midnight of Thursday in order to make my absence less evident."

"Oh, I shan't mind so much. I can amuse myself, you know."

"I don't doubt it."

"What's the fuss about, then? Has my darling sister been properly topped off with an evening with the evasive Cornelia?"

"There's no need to be so crude," returned Sirius, remembering the look on Cornelia's face when she handed him the newspaper.

"Oh for Merlin's sake—she's not even pretty. Any other girl you'd already be finished."

"It's just requiring some extended planning," returned Sirius, lounging against the four-post bed.

And with that statement, he left.

Bellatrix rushed to her trunk and pulled out a picture frame with her sister's face inside. She removed the tattered photograph and replaced it with another one. She looked at it for a long second, and then straightened it. She changed into a set of silken black robes and left her own quarters.

In the frame, lying on Bellatrix's bed was the face of Cornelia Crouch.


	8. An Outing to Remember

_**Chapter Eight: An Outing to Remember**_

Cornelia, Lily, and some of Lily's year-mates in Gryffindor—Mary Macdonald, among others—were enjoying a pleasant lunch. There were sounds of footsteps in the corner of the Great Hall. It seemed that Cornelia's mother had arrived. Lily saw the dark-haired form of the witch who accompanied her, and made herself scarce.

"Mother! It is wonderful to see you again!" exclaimed Cornelia, bounding out of her seat. It was a rare treat to see their mother without the unfortunate presence of their father.

"I can only say the same in return," replied Mrs. Crouch, "I've got another surprise for you, my dear."

"Yes?"

"I've brought one of my school friends here for tea."

Another set of footsteps joined them. Next to her mother stood a woman who was dressed in such a style that she was almost an anachronism. She was wearing elaborate, lacy, dress robes, her black hair in a severe style. Her stern grey eyes were reminiscent of someone, but Cornelia was unable to place her just yet.

"Cornelia, this is mama's friend from school, Mrs. Druella Rosier Black."

Cornelia flushed in shock – why was her mother consorting with the darkest of families? Was this another strange side effect of the Council of Fourteen?

"It is a delight to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Black," spoke Cornelia carefully, calmly bobbing her head down to brush Druella's outstretched hand with a kiss, as was the tradition in pureblood families.

"I have heard a great deal about you from…"

Cornelia nearly gasped, and wondered if _Sirius_ had been telling tales about her.

"…Elladora. It seems that you are a most accomplished little girl. You must be in your fourth year now."

"My fifth, Mrs. Black."

Mrs. Black gazed upon the form of Cornelia Crouch. Perhaps if she became well-acquainted with Sirius, she could betroth Andromeda to young Barty Crouch—although he was so young—and Andromeda was so unsuitable.

"I would like to invite you for a little afternoon tea at Hogsmeade today. My daughter will be joining us, she is your year-mate, I believe. You may bring along a friend."

"That would be wonderful, Mrs. Black."

Mrs. Druella Rosier Black raised an eyebrow, a tactic used by many of her family members. She spoke once more, looking sharply at Cornelia,

"Who will you be bringing, Cornelia?"

"My friend, Lillian Evans. She's one of my year-mates, but in Gryffindor rather than Ravenclaw."

Mrs. Black nearly flinched at the word "Gryffindor", but asked politely,

"Which family is she from? I am not well-aware of the surname 'Evans'".

Cornelia grimaced. Clearly, Mrs. Black was one of the shortsighted pureblood witches who thought they owned the earth because of their lineage.

"Lily's from a very respectable family. I'll invite her to tea."

And with that announcement, Cornelia turned around and ran away. Mrs. Black turned to Mrs. Crouch, and spoke acerbically,

"I was under the impression that your little girl was well-behaved. I would _never_ allow my Narcissa to do such a thing." Mrs. Delacour took her criticism silently, and the two women made their way into Hogsmeade.

* * *

"Sirius, have I got a surprise for you," announced James importantly.

"What is it Prongs?"

"Twelve bottles of Polyjuice Potion and a jar of sneezing powder."

"Wait, say that again. I haven't heard such delightful words since Bellatrix last spoke."

James hit Sirius on the head with his book bag.

"Whom shall we prank first?"

They gave each other an extended look. Grey eyes met hazel, and they both burst out at the same time –

"Snivellus!"

* * *

"A proper tea outing. Why, I haven't been invited to one of those since my aunt was inducted into the Decayed Gentlewomen Club," noticed Lily, sitting quietly on her bed.

"Decayed Gentlewomen?" asked Cornelia curiously.

"I'm not quite sure what it entails, but they had lovely tea. It was Muggle though, of course."

"Oh, that reminds me. Don't say anything about being Muggleborn at tea."

Lily looked at her friend quizzically.

"I think she's related to Sirius."

"Say no more. Anyhow, what time shall I meet you at Hogwarts?"

"Two-thirty shall be fine, my darling."

In the meantime, Lily was talking to James, who had cornered her as she was trying to get ready for the tea. He was really infuriating at times.

"Sirius is going to be very into this."

"You mustn't tell him, James."

"His aunt Druella is the most wicked beast that ever lived."

"But this is _Cornelia's_ party. He mustn't ruin her family's outing."

"Oh he won't ruin it, I swear."

"He'll make a scene about why Cornelia is consorting with _dark_ wizards."

"I hope Bellatrix is there. Sirius can poison her tea."

"Sirius wouldn't poison her tea. Sirius _adores_ Bellatrix."

James stopped short at Lily's statement.

"Sirius does not _adore_ her. He is merely aided by her in difficult times."

"Come _on_ James. She's the only member of his family who tolerates him. How do you think he got the way he is? He wasn't always like this, you know."

"How would _you_ know? You're not his best friend."

"James, I have eyes. Sirius has been in my house for five years now."

* * *

An auburn haired little girl of approximately eleven years of age was watching through a part in the tapestry. She had gotten lost on her way to Defense against the Dark Arts, and was having difficulty finding her way back to Gryffindor tower. Up in the corridor ahead was a young boy who was about her age, with sleek black locks and stormy grey eyes. He seemed familiar—she thought she might have seen him on the train—so she was about to run up to him and ask him how to return back to her room. Why, she might even make a new friend.

She had just opened the part further when she noticed a taller girl stride past her confidently. On her heels was another eleven year old, clutching the sleeve of the other girl's robes. The tall one turned her head for an instant to check around, and when Lily caught a glimpse of her face she nearly gasped. It was nearly identical to that of the boy's, why, they could have been _twins_. She sported the same dusky eyes and shiny black hair, but an entirely feminine confidence. The tall girl walked briskly to catch up with the boy, and held him still by the neck of his robes. The boy turned around, the top of his head at the tall girl's eye level. He grimaced when he saw her.

"What do you want, bitch?"

Lily almost gasped again. She had never heard such coarse language used, and at such a young age! However, she became immensely interested, and continued eavesdropping, even though she was aware that it was wrong.

"Nothing from you, blood traitor bastard. Actually, perhaps we shall begin our lessons."

"I don't need your bloody lessons."

"Narcissa thinks you do, don't you, 'cissa?"

The blonde girl merely trembled in assent. The taller girl seemed to say something to her, and she quickly fled. The boy seemed more attentive with the departure of the younger girl.

"I've picked a target for you."

"A…target?"

"She's a beautiful Ravenclaw. Pureblood. It'll be very simple."

"What year?"

"Third."

"Bellatrix, are you kidding? I'm _eleven_. I've never kissed a girl in my life. I need to be _normal_, so that people in my house begin to accept me. I don't have any real friends, and here you are, expecting me to get myself an _older_ girlfriend."

"Sirius, there is one thing you need to understand. Without confidence, you will be nowhere in this world, and there is one very easy way to become confident."

"I won't fall for this sort of trick, Trixie. I'm going back to Gryffindor tower."

In a manner very similar to that of her mother's, thirteen-year old Bellatrix Black flinched at the mention of her rival house.

"Sirius, I want you to be my protégé."

"Your _what_?"

Lily merely stood inside the curtain, wondering what had just transpired.

* * *

Lily had just left her Charm's study group and was making her way down a back corridor en route to Gryffindor tower. She was just about to turn a corner when she heard sounds coming from the tapestry. Now, she detested eavesdropping, but she had no idea that there was a secret passageway there. It was reasonably exciting. The auburn-haired girl peeked through the tapestry, where the opening revealed a narrow wood-paneled hallway. However, she could not see where the sounds were coming from. Lily gingerly stepped inside and walked carefully down the hall. At the end of the hall, there was a small balcony that seemed to overlook a large staircase that led down to the dungeons. On the staircase, there were two students having a conversation.

"I have Quidditch practice, so I have no interest in spending this time with _you_."

The voice sounded very familiar to Lily, so she crept closer. There on the staircase was fifteen year old Bellatrix Black talking to her cousin Sirius. Sirius seemed very interested in leaving as soon as possible. Nevertheless, Lily noticed an odd look in Bellatrix's eyes that was unlike what she had seen before. It was not an expression of derision, or mockery, as was usually found there, but one of unparalleled longing.

"Quite the popular boy, aren't you?"

Sirius looked somewhat uncomfortable, but only shrugged. Lily couldn't understand why Bellatrix persisted in treating her cousin so badly.

"You know, you could be much more than you are now."

"Was that meant to be inspirational?"

"Merely derogatory, my cousin."

"Only fools confuse the meaning of a simple statement, my dear Bellatrix."

Perceptive Lily Evans was struck by the feeling that something was going to happen. Something she could not change, but something that was not meant to happen. She had knelt down at the balcony and persisted viewing the situation through the bars. In her fear, she closed her eyes, afraid of what horrific incident would occur.

It was greeted only by silence. She heard the rustling of robes, and opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of what had transpired.

Bellatrix had kissed Sirius.

"Bellatrix, why did you do that?"

"You looked very kissable just then, my cousin."

How could she be so calm, Lily thought? It was obvious to her, if not to Sirius, that Bellatrix had been waiting for this moment for _months_. Sirius, on the other hand, was confused, as though he could not comprehend what hit him. He ran his fingers through his hair, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Honestly Bella, you have no sense of propriety."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. Or were you afraid that I would judge your first kiss?"

Lily watched as Sirius flushed, but promptly lied,

"That was _not_ my first kiss."

She could not bear to watch a second more. She had already trespassed on a most private moment, but where it should have been romantic, it was twisted. There was only a single positive thing about it. At that single instant, they certainly were in love with each other. Lily was not quite sure how she knew this, because as little as she knew Sirius, she had never even seen Bellatrix face to face. However, it was possible, that when Bellatrix fell out of love with Sirius, Sirius had just seen a different side to his manipulative cousin, and fallen into it.

* * *

Lily had just told this story to James, and felt horrible for it, as though she had betrayed something very sad. James' hazel eyes grew steadily wider with every sentence; he could not believe that his best friend of five years had hidden such damning information from him.

"James, you mustn't treat him any differently. Can you imagine what he's had to live with for years now? Do you know what environment he grew up in?"

"I can't believe that he wouldn't tell me this! Lily, I'm his best friend! Do you know what that means? That means that we tell each other _everything_. This is a betrayal, isn't it?"

"James, please trust me. Sirius is your _best_ friend. But his family is the darkest of the dark, the Blacks, and there were some things that he _could_ not tell you. Things that even you _should_ not know."

Lily's emerald eyes gazed into James' hazel ones, and although he seemed to want to protest, he didn't.

"He loves Bellatrix? That explains so much. Lily, you can't let him do it."

Lily looked at James expectantly, but what it was that Sirius shouldn't do, he never said.

* * *

Cornelia was dressed in yellow-striped seersucker robes that cinched at the waist so that they resembled an afternoon frock. Mrs. Black was known for being very particular about her afternoon tea attire. As she added a soupcon of lipstick and a dash of eye shadow before she surveyed her appearance in the dormitory mirror.

"Fair to middling, I suppose," complained the demanding figure, frowning at her immaculate reflection.

She cast a little warming charm around herself so that if the weather was a bit chilly, there would be no need to worry. Not that seersucker would be any protection against wind, she thought ruefully. Cornelia met Lily at the entrance to Gryffindor tower.

"Oh, Cornelia, I'm a mess."

Cornelia smiled. Lily was always pretending that she was like Flora McFlimsey, and didn't have a _thing_ to wear, when really she was well-decked out. Sure enough, Lily was standing there, looking very pretty in a set of pale green short robes. They too were cinched at the waist, but Lily had not chosen to wear a satin sash or anything of the like. Her auburn hair was adorned with a sparkling barrette.

"Lils, you look fantastic. Now, we must be going, for Mrs. Black doesn't seem to be tolerant of latecomers."

"Maybe that's why Narcissa always looks so nervous."

"Mrs. Black, it is absolutely delightful for you to have invited us to this fete," praised Barty Crouch, Jr., winking at his sister as he lied. He was dressed in a white muggle shirt and khakis with long dark robes on top. He was in stark contrast to Mrs. Druella Black, who persisted in wearing her funereal attire. At a second table sat Cornelia, Lily, and Narcissa, enjoying a selection of tea sandwiches.

"Oh, anything to spend time with my dear friend Elladora," replied Mrs. Black cordially.

They were sitting at Madame Puddifoot's, which was not quite so sickening when it wasn't near Valentine's Day. In fact, the outside balcony was rather refreshing in the spring, since it let in the cool breeze and afforded the diners a fine view of the goings-on of Hogsmeade. Cornelia knew that there would be an official Hogsmeade visit today, and she was wondering where the rest of her friends were.

"My dear Narcissa, are you quite alright my dear?"

Cornelia was so caught up in her thoughts so that she didn't hear Narcissa's mumbled, "I'm not feeling well, _mother_." Nor did she see a figure in a black robe creep into Madame Puddifoot's and up the back stair.

"Afternoon, ladies. Gentleman. Affectionately forgotten Aunt," greeted Sirius, standing expectantly at the entrance to the balcony carrying a broomstick.

He expected Aunt Druella to make a snide comment about "besmirching the name of his father's", but she took a slightly more civilized view than his own mother and was simply repulsively pleasant.

"I didn't know that you would be here, Sirius," began Mrs. Black, staring at her eldest nephew.

"I wasn't planning on it, but being such a lovely day, why waste it inside a gloomy old castle? Also, Madame Puddifoot is extraordinarily fond of me. Anyone for an impromptu Quidditch match? I can play anything but Seeker, and James wants me to recruit."

Sirius glanced at Narcissa and stroked the handle of his broomstick. Narcissa's eyes grew wide, and she fled to the inside of the tea shop.

"My dear Aunt Druella, what is the matter with your daughter?"

"I was, under the impression that your daughter was well-behaved, Druella," added Mrs. Crouch, careful to repay the slight upon Cornelia earlier.

"Would you excuse me for a moment, Elladora," replied Mrs. Black somewhat anxiously, and followed her into the shop.

Sirius raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. Druella Black was not known for her kindness towards her children.

"I hope she is alright," added Sirius rather virtuously.

"I suppose I should check?" answered Elladora Crouch rather anxiously, and followed them inside.

Sirius began to talk to Barty Crouch, pretending that he hadn't noticed Cornelia.

"So you are in my brother's year—I understand."

Barty Crouch was his father in miniature—and he seemed almost as insufferable.

"What _are_ you doing today other than having a disgusting tea party with my revolting aunt?"

Cornelia smiled slightly at Sirius' apt description of Mrs. Black, but soon remembered that she was annoyed with him.

"I'll be tutoring some first years."

"Need any company?"

"Sirius, I'm tutoring. Not teaching them how to play pranks on their professors. And I'm _not_ teaching them hexes."

"That's not all I do. I'm trying to be a better person, Cornelia. You could try being nicer," complained Sirius defensively.

"Alright, fine."

"My dear, you are looking at the next Albus Dumbledore."

"I highly doubt it."

"Minerva McGonagall?"

"Somewhat difficult."

"Fine, my honored ancestor, Phineas Nigellus."

Cornelia looked appalled.


	9. Once Bitten, Twice Shy

_**Chapter Nine: Once Bitten, Twice Shy**_

"Did you have a nice trip to Hogsmeade?" asked James, slyly.

"It was fine, James. Did you enjoy Barty Crouch chatting up your Lily-flower?" Sirius responded, smirking.

"As though that would ever happen," replied James, thinking of the diminutive Slytherin.

"Well, I am off to tutor the little children, the darlings. I only speak the truth, my dear James," explained Sirius, mysteriously.

James stared at the retreating back of his friend, and wondered about what Lily had told him yesterday.

…_Sirius is your best friend. But his family is the darkest of the dark, the Blacks, and there were some things that he could not tell you. Things that even you should not know…._

But it couldn't be true; he _couldn't_ love his wicked cousin, could he? Lily claimed that she had changed him, that he wasn't like this before. But what precisely was "this"? There was nothing wrong with Sirius. Just a healthy dose of arrogance…and perhaps a smattering of playboy. Lily definitely had no basis in saying that he was in love with Bellatrix Black.

* * *

"Why _do_ you always go visit Bellatrix, Sirius?" asked a curious James Potter, lying front down on his bed, sprawled over Transfiguration notes. They had been transfiguring tortoises into teapots and James wanted to see if he could get some bigger animals properly transfigured.

"She's my cousin," replied Sirius somewhat mysteriously, not really answering the question.

"Yes, but you _hate_ your family, don't you? I mean, all that pureblood stuff, you don't really go for it, right?" persisted thirteen year old James, his hazel eyes alight with excitement.

"Well, no, but really, neither does Bellatrix," continued Sirius, his grey eyes darkening.

"Don't lie, Sirius, Bellatrix _hates_ Muggleborns. Don't you see her always giving them detentions for doing stupid things? It's not really right for her to abuse her prefect position like that."

"No it's not, but I don't want a lecture about power right now. Dear Minerva will be upset if you don't get your teapot tomorrow," evaded Sirius, motioning at the notes spread out before him.

"Yea, you're right. Where were you yesterday, when we were studying, anyway? Lily told Remus that she saw you in some secret passageway. You're not going after that Ravenclaw girl again, are you? You're not in her league."

"I think it's my decision to determine whose league I am in, thank you very much," replied Sirius coldly, and James understood that his best friend did not wish to be questioned.

* * *

"I don't want to play beater this week," announced Sirius at Quidditch practice. Samuel Goldstein, the current Gryffindor captain and seeker, frowned.

"And why is that? Our match against Slytherin is this week."

"I don't think it's a good idea."

"It's a very good idea; they've replaced their previous chaser with some untried girl, just because she's a prefect."

"It's not just _some_ girl, Goldstein."

"Who is it then, _Black_?"

"Yes, Black."

"Are you trying to be a smartass, Black? What do you mean, yes _Black_? Are you defecting to the Slytherin team or something?"

Sirius scowled, especially when James jabbed him, trying to remind him that this was not a good idea as a third year.

"No, it's my cousin."

"That's even better. Channel that family rivalry, Black."

"She's not my rival."

"She's a _girl_, Black. Get over whatever stupid thing you're thinking, and play beater. Got it?"

After practice, James cornered his friend.

"What the hell was that about? You don't care that we're playing against Bellatrix, do you?"

"Well…er…no."

"Then what was that about?"

"Well, I don't want to upset her."

"Why would she be upset?"

"Nothing, it's…nevermind," replied Sirius evasively, his eyes nearly black in the light.

"Why would you bother getting Goldstein worked up? You bait him enough, Sirius."

"Look, _James_, I didn't need a lecture from you."

"I'm not _lecturing_ you. Honestly, Sirius, can't you tell me anything?"

"Well, this isn't just_anything_, is it? This is _Bellatrix_. Beautiful, talented, charming, but desperately wicked, Bellatrix Black."

James was a tiny bit shocked, but even though it was Sirius, he wouldn't mince words. Wisely, he didn't say anything, and allowed Sirius to get into stride.

"Ever since I was small, it was always, _when you go to Hogwarts, you can be just like Bellatrix_. Everything a Slytherin family could ever want, and yet still only good enough to mother a perfect pureblood heir. How can I be considered half the person she is, but am worth twice as much? Confidence is a terrible thing in a woman, it is said in my family, and I pity and hate Bellatrix for it. She should've have been Narcissa, she would have been much happier. And James, I shouldn't have ever been born a Black."

"But then you'd lose your haughty good looks, Sirius," blurted James, a feeble attempt at levity.

Thirteen year old Sirius gave James a sad smile, and left.

* * *

James shook his head in surprise from the memory, and watched Sirius make his way down the stairs-realizing that he never knew what his best friend really thought about Bellatrix Black.

"Here I am, bright and ready," announced Sirius, looking particularly dashing in his black spring robes.

"And dandy as ever, I suppose," replied Cornelia, who was having trouble covering her smile with annoyance, even though she was still disturbed by the slight on her father.

"Where are we doing our business?"

"I hope you mean tutoring, when you say _business_."

"Actually, I meant sex, but we can do the other."

"I suppose you are trying to annoy me, but I'm afraid it doesn't work anymore."

"Doesn't it? You seemed to attain a glorious red flush."

Cornelia smiled again, making the 'glorious flush' more pronounced, but merely continued on the same vein,

"We'll talk to McGonagall and Flitwick about who needs the most help. I think Professor McGonagall is the one who organizes the tutoring program."

"_Does she_? Darling Minerva will be _delighted_ to see yours truly."

True to character, Professor McGonagall appeared moments after they had stepped into her office and peered down her nose at them. (Although, Sirius was tall enough so that it was a very short distance to peer).

"It's very nice when older students help out. It is terribly difficult to accommodate all the needs of the younger students with only a handful of professors. Come with me down into the free classroom."

Cornelia and Sirius followed, sometimes exchanging bemused smiles. Sirius would sometimes turn and make faces at Cornelia, who looked very sternly at him in quite a good imitation of McGonagall's own imperious manner. She leaned over and whispered,

_"Don't_do that!"

"Do what?"

"_Look_ at me like that."

"Why, will Minerva be jealous?"

Professor McGonagall glanced behind her for a moment, only to see the two students walking stone straight, calm expressions on their faces. Satisfied, she turned back around. Soon, they arrived at a classroom with three first years inside.

"Now, Cornelia Crouch will be teaching you all the basics of Potion-making today."

Cornelia went and sat down, and Sirius moved to follow her inside.

"Actually, Sirius, you're going to be tutoring a Hufflepuff in advanced Transfiguration. You seem to know that particular subject very well."

Sirius glanced once more through the door unhappily at Cornelia, who waved at him.

Soon, he and Professor McGonagall had arrived in the Hufflepuff common room, where a dishwater blonde girl with glasses was sitting on a couch, a transfiguration text sprawled in front of her.

Emma Abbott sat doing a Transfiguration essay as Sirius ignored her, instead bewitching things to fly in front of him.

"Could you teach me about Switching Spells?"

"Already did, love," replied the irrepressible Sirius, who merely flicked his wand, modifying her memory.

"Oh, you did."

Sirius summoned a caramel to his fingertips from an open chocolate box in the corner.

"Right after I taught you about Animagi. Fascinating subject, that."

"You did?"

Sirius dropped his voice slightly seductively, and replied,

"Of course. And then we made out in the corner."

Emma, who was slightly hard of hearing due to spell damage at a young age, merely stared at Sirius with large, protuberant eyes after his last comment.

"And then we did _what_?"

"We finished the essay. It was lovely. You're a very pretty girl, Emma Abbott, and don't you dare forget it."

A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall and Cornelia walked in, Sirius still sitting nonchalantly about ten feet away from Emma Abbott, who seemed to have a long piece of parchment set in front of her.

"How are we doing in here?"

"I finished the essay and learned about switching spells and Animagi. Sirius is a brilliant teacher," praised Emma, holding up a finished essay. Sirius twirled his wand blithely, and flashed a grin at Cornelia.

* * *

While Sirius was overjoyed that Cornelia no longer appeared to despise his very existence, Bellatrix became better acquainted with her ex-boyfriend's friend, Rodolphus Lestrange. Before she left her room, she slipped into the impossibly thin silk robes and applied just the smallest bit of red lipstick, and left.

She took the back stair, one that she was particularly fond of, or particularly detested, depending on how you look at it, since it was where she had kissed Sirius for the first time. She and her handsome male cousin had shared many intimate moments since then, but none was quite as wonderful as the first.

"Hello Bellatrix, you look stunning."

She twisted around; expecting to ravish Rodolphus with her beauty, but it was Severus. She hid a scowl, for her exquisiteness was wasted upon her baby sister's love struck swain.

"Where's your friend, darling?"

"Rodolphus is not my friend, Bella."

"Pity. I am waiting for him."

Rodolphus entered as expected, his dark locks and eyes complemented by his robes. He would never be as handsome as Sirius, but he possessed a very attractive confidence. Bellatrix was not disappointed.

"The _ladies_ of Hogwarts are not to your favor, Roddy?"

"Neither is that nickname, Bellatrix," retorted Rodolphus, and Bellatrix felt a pang as his insult merely grazed the surface.

"I would like this to be a pleasant evening, Mr. Lestrange."

"I cannot deny that that would be my intent, Miss Black."

He took her arm, and they began walking to the room of requirement. Whispers surrounded them as everyone discussed beautiful Bellatrix's new conquest. How sad it was, they said, that Lucius Malfoy himself would wish such an embarrassment upon his friend. The two of them entered the room, where a candlelit dinner and canopy bed was illuminated.

"I see the room is prepared."

Bellatrix merely nodded her assent, and began to eat the meal. Dinner elapsed with little conversation, since both knew the other's intent. Bellatrix would never love him, and she would never be worth anything to him, except to produce a worthy pureblood heir. It was very simple. She was going to marry Rodolphus Lestrange and live ever after.

Rodolphus finished eating quickly, and stared at Bellatrix hungrily as though he had not eaten a single bite. She was wearing only the set of silken robes, and as soon as she noticed his eyes, she walked closer, and spoke softly into his ear.


	10. Narcissa's Confession

_**Chapter Ten: Narcissa's Confession**_

Sirius whistled, noticing for the first time the sunshine filtering in through ceiling of the Great Hall. He eyed a raven-haired lass who happened to pass by him, her prefect's robes clinging oddly close to her skin. As a test, he gave her a barely perceptible wink, his cinereal eyes disappearing for a moment.

The raven-haired beauty stopped abruptly, and held her bag of books as though her life depended on it. Sirius looked at her longingly—wondering if there was enough time before the start of Charms to make it a date. Just then, Cornelia appeared out of nowhere—her bag of books looking as though it was ready to burst. Sirius nearly sighed wistfully, but his walk purposeful, arrived in class.

James leaned over,

"They say there's a girl who can stop a man in his tracks."

"She's like a bloody second conscience."

"Perhaps it wouldn't bother you so much if you weren't missing the first one."

Sirius sneered, and darted out of the classroom as soon as Charms was over.

Bellatrix Black was throwing darts at a picture of her sister. She appeared to have fully recovered from her unusual bout with emotions. A handsome figure appeared in her room. He cocked his head as if appraising her actions, before speaking.

"So cliché, no?"

"What do _you_want?"

"Only a moment of your time, my beautiful cousin."

"Flattery is unnecessary"

"And still delightful"

"I wish you would leave."

"I wish I would tell your mother that both her daughters are enthralled with the same man, a filthy half-blood."

Bella quirked an eyebrow at Sirius and sneered elegantly.

"My aunt is _quite_ the prejudiced little bitch, isn't she?"

"My dear cousin, I fear that _my_ aunt is not much better."

The two were very close, Sirius' head hovering a good seven inches above Bellatrix's. For a moment, Sirius could have held her in his arms and comforted her. But, why would she require his comfort?

"How are things going with that awful Cornelia?"

"Just fine, thank you."

Bellatrix clicked her tongue against her teeth.

"You are just going to have to do a better job, aren't you?"

"No."

"Is Sirius just a little bit disappointed?"

Sirius rolled his eyes at Bellatrix's mocking tone, and continued, adopted a saccharine sweet voice for his first sentence.

"Just a little bit. And where were _you_ last night, my dear cousin?"

"In the Room for Requirement."

"With who?"

"With _whom_," corrected Bellatrix rather superciliously.

"Fine, with _whom_?"

"Rodolphus Lestrange."

"Moldy Roldy? How absolutely appalling," remarked Sirius, encircling Bellatrix's tiny waist with his arms.

"He is _not_ moldy Roldy," exclaimed Bellatrix rather childishly, burying her head in Sirius' chest, feeling oddly comforted.

"Oh, is he _precious_ moldy Roldy, now? A friend of the lovely Lucius, is he not?"

"My dear cousin, I have no interest in pursuing this conversation further. My mother is arriving by floo shortly, and if she finds you here, you will have much to explain."

"I am fully clothed, my darling."

"I know."

"Is it disappointing?"

"Not in the least."

Sirius grimaced for a moment, and disappeared.

* * *

Predictably, Mrs. Druella Rosier Black arrived, glorious in her dispirited robes, dusting them off unnecessarily as she left the fireplace. Bellatrix knelt down and kissed her mother on the hand before quickly standing once more. The mother gazed upon her eldest daughter beatifically, and nodded.

"Bellatrix, why are you wearing those silk robes?"

"Mama, I am afraid that my other robes are not particularly clean, and I wished to look presentable for this fortuitous meeting," lied Bellatrix cleverly.

Mrs. Black presented her daughter with another simpering smile.

"How lovely. I heard that you have become acquainted with Mr. Lestrange's eldest son."

"Rodolphus? Yes, he was very polite during our meeting yesterday."

For a moment, Bellatrix had considered replacing meeting with sexual tryst, just to observe the effect on her mother, but thought better of it. It was the sort of thing that Sirius would have done.

"Yes, he is a very fine boy. Are you willing to marry him?"

"Whatever is necessary mother?"

"Bellatrix, I hoped that you would be more romantic about this. Us pureblood witches must be strong, but feminine. A marriage of convenience can be glorified to a loving relationship," remarked Mrs. Black in a most uncharacteristic manner.

"I am sure that I will come to love him."

"Yes, for it is only with love that one can embrace the next step. Bellatrix, I do not want to pressure you at such a young age, but there is a moment in each girl's life, where she experiences something that cements her future as a woman…and a mother."

Bellatrix listened intently, as though thoroughly captivated by her mother's words.

"Now, when you marry Rodolphus, this moment will occur."

Mrs. Black stood up as though she had corrupted her young, innocent daughter enough, and flooed home.

* * *

Cornelia had been taken out of class _again_ to appear before the Ministry with her father. This time Barty, Jr. had not been taken out of class—Cornelia thought that her father rather valued his son's education more than his daughter's. Her mother Elladora was not an imposing witch in the least, and quite content to fade into the background, virtually invisible next to Barty Crouch's shining star.

From what Cornelia knew of her mother's time at Hogwarts, she was not entirely surprised that her mother behaved in this way. Although she could not say that Elladora had been brought up entirely in the pureblood witch mold—she had certainly done what was expected of a pureblood witch. She had found a proper pureblood husband and had her pureblood children, and now she was keeping up appearances. Cornelia found it absolutely sickening. The only thing she could say was reassuring about her mother was that she was nothing like Druella Rosier Black, friends though they were.

The Slytherins were all like that, really. At least the witches—simpering over their men. Andromeda Black had talked to her once about this strange situation.

'Dromeda was another odd fellow. Cornelia knew that her family had been disappointed when Andromeda had been sorted into Ravenclaw—although not nearly as disappointed as when Sirius was sorted into Gryffindor, a year later. 'Dromeda had told her as much rather ruefully—noting that because she was not a male and she was not an heir—there was not much of a loss to the family. Cornelia was relieved that she had at least escaped this—didn't her presence at the Concillarium meetings confirm this? 'Dromeda had told her all about the different pureblood parties—and all the girls—Olivia Avery, Lena Carrow, Rosalyn Travers—they all seemed to be of the same. All except Bellatrix.

"Cornelia—stand up straighter. The Minister is coming to stand with us and they will take a photograph," whispered her mother, poking Cornelia in the back with her wand. Her father had been displeased because the last photograph showed Cornelia ducking in and out of the picture as though she didn't care to be there. Which, she supposed, she didn't.

"Pursuant Minister Bagnold's suggestions—we have somewhat narrowed the cases in which the earlier rule will be applied. While we continue to favor the rapid disposal of cases in which Death Eaters working for You-Know-Who are implicated—this choice to send them to Azkaban without a trial will be a _discretionary_ decision based on the recommendation of Senior Ministry members."

* * *

Sirius was channeling Bellatrix, and feeling hopeless and forlorn in his room. A curious James glanced at him, smirking.

"What is it, you worthless fool?"

"Oh, I am simply enjoying watching the glorious Sirius Black endure his first brush with humility. It is a very memorable moment."

"Shut your trap, you mocking…Marauder."

"Your barbs are sticking to my skin, Sirius," returned James, smiling easily at his friend's discomfort. He continued, striking a nerve,

"She doesn't like you. She never will. Stop all this useless flittering and return to your crowd of Hufflepuff admirers."

"I don't really enjoy these pathetic responses to what I consider to be a mind-blowing problem."

"Shall I laugh at the pun, or will you?"

"Laugh all you want, I'll show you."

"Great words, mister philosopher. Unfortunately, a wandering eye indicates a faltering mind," offered James, lounging into his bed.

"Oh James, have you been _reading_?" replied Sirius.

A haggard Narcissa Black entered the Heads' Suite with trepidation.

"Bella?"

"Why, hello Narcissa," replied Bellatrix, a paragon of hospitality, while whisking away the dart ridden photograph.

Narcissa was crying as she looked up at her sister.

"Are you quite alright, my darling," asked Bellatrix disingenuously, knowing perfectly well what the problem was and wondering why her sister had not arrived sooner.

"No."

"Calm down. Tell me what the matter is."

"Something horrific happened two nights ago. When I had followed _your_ instructions."

"What do you mean?"

"It is not something one would mention in company, Bella."

"Cissa, I am not company. I am your sister, and bound to take care of you."

"It involves Sirius. He…er…took advantage of me."

Bellatrix looked sharply at her sister, as though the news had surprised her.

"Does Mother know?"

"Oh, if she did, she'd never forgive me! Or him, you mustn't tell a soul. It happened in that room upstairs, on the seventh floor."

"Cissa, why didn't you do _something_?"

"I was too frightened."

"So, you met Sirius in a secluded location where he promptly forced you. Is that it, my dear?"

"No, of course not!"

"What is it, then?"

Narcissa trembled, but whispered what transpired into her sister's eagerly awaiting ear.

"How did it feel?"

Narcissa looked distinctly surprised at this new angle of questions. She stared at her sister for a moment, then replied,

"Well, it was something I had never quite experienced before."

"My dear, this is precisely what I meant when I suggested adventure."

"Truly?"

"Of course, my dear. Now, you must simply continue trusting Sirius and he will open this world to you."

"But Bella, Sirius is my _cousin_. I love Severus, not him."

Bellatrix gave a short, cruel laugh.

"What do you think Lucius Malfoy is? A distant relation? Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion are first cousins. Even Severus is family. If we stopped marrying relatives, our blood would become impure as those of that revolting mudblood, Lillian Evans, and the Blacks would no longer be the royalty of wizards. Besides, Severus is not naïve. He will not understand if you are inexperienced. It is your duty to make him happy. I think that you should embrace this aspect of your life with alacrity."

"But wouldn't that…make me a woman of disrepute?" asked Narcissa gingerly.

"Why, Narcissa, it is a very common occurrence."

"Bellatrix, do _you_ do it?"

"Narcissa, now is not a moment for questions."


	11. A Touch of Amusement

_**Chapter Eleven: A Touch of Amusement**_

"Sirius Black, at your service," came a light tenor, wafting through the halls. It was the sort of mocking voice that made a smile come to your lips even when you were annoyed by what it said.

"I'd prefer it if you called me Dr. Crouch, Mr Black," retorted Cornelia, her smile extending to her eyes.

"As though you would have a doctorate? Or is it a medical degree?" responded Sirius, his smile equally mischievous,

"I saw you went to the press conference again."

The sentence hung between them and made the silence more painful than companionable. Cornelia's expression became much more annoyed at Sirius.

"Are you concerned that you might get caught helping out You-Know-Who and be shipped off to Azkaban?"

"I hardly think I would be helping You-Know-Who."

"I think your allegiances are apparent from the company you keep."

Sirius had almost taken out his wand at the final comment—but realized that his goal of getting together with Cornelia would hardly be helped by hexing her. He tried to fix the situation vainly. He obtained a brief respite when Filch stopped to check their forms for Hogsmeade, and prodded their cloaks with his Probity Probe. Sirius was pleased to see that Cornelia did not reserve her expression of utmost loathing for him—as it was on her face when Filch tried to probe her bag.

"I hardly think that I would be taking Dark objects _out_ of the castle, Mister Filch. I shall be speaking with my father about this."

When they had entered the village, Sirius tried to undue his mess.

"Come now, I did have rather a lark tutoring that little Hufflepuff girl, Minnie or whatever," endeavored Sirius, hoping to amaze her with his change of heart.

Cornelia continued to look at Sirius coldly,

"I do hope you remembered her name was Emma while you were tutoring her. I have never heard someone who tumbles out of one lie into another as easily as you do, Sirius Black."

Sirius looked at Cornelia as though expecting a Lily Evans style lecture, but the corners of her mouth were just slightly upturned.

"I was a brilliant tutor, and it gives one a sense of joy when one imparts knowledge to others."

"I hope you didn't use that line on McGonagall."

"I did, and she received it better than you are."

"That is because I know you better than she, Sirius."

"I do hope so. I don't really know Minerva that well at all, despite how she solicits my attentions."

"Sirius," began Cornelia, ready to deliver the expected lecture.

"Alright, I don't like tutoring, and I just need McGonagall to think that I'm not a complete screw up, because then she'll write to my mother, and I'll be a terrible fix again."

"Don't worry about it. Your mother dotes upon you, I'm sure," soothed Cornelia, knowing only half the story and wanting to get the remainder from Sirius himself.

Sirius gave a laugh like a bark as they continued walking through Hogsmeade, straight past Zonko's and the rest, and were rounding past the Hog's Head.

"I hope you didn't receive that impression when you lunched with my aunt. My family only tolerates me because of my cousin."

"Narcissa?"

"Of course not. Bellatrix."

The two were silent again, and this time it was rather more companionable. Cornelia chose to reserve her judgment of Bellatrix.

"You know, just because you're not like your family doesn't mean that other people don't like you. Not just because you're popular, or play pranks, but because it's fun to be around you. I must say that I admire your commitment to the rights of the accused, Sirius."

"I'm not concerned about what people think of me," responded Sirius, aware that Cornelia had just given him half a compliment.

"You have little worry lines around your eyes. Very attractive."

Of course, Cornelia made a little sarcastic face to assure Sirius that it was not actually that handsome to sport a set of crow's feet.

"I don't worry, and I don't care if people like me."

"Do you care if _I_ like you?"

"Of course."

"You're not very good at showing it."

And with that, Cornelia set off to the Three Broomsticks by herself, leaving a confused Sirius in her wake.

* * *

"Mother, I am to wed Rodolphus, then?" asked Bellatrix, a sentence given with such a commanding air that Mrs. Druella Rosier Black could never really acknowledge it as an actual question.

"Of course, my dear. It is a fantastic match, if I do say so, for the Lestranges are one of our first families, almost as well regarded as the Blacks and the…, well, we need not worry about that now."

Bellatrix knew that her mother had almost mentioned the Malfoys, and in an extraordinary display of tact, had stopped from doing so. Her mother clearly regarded Narcissa as better marriage material, for although her personality would be rife with shortcomings if she were a son, she was quite the ideal daughter. Pliable, willing, and generally obedient, Narcissa was frequently prevented from thinking for herself. Bellatrix, and to a lesser extent, Andromeda, was the cunning one, able to think two steps ahead of her adversaries. This, naturally, made her rather a dangerous woman for a wife. In order to gain the prestige from marrying a daughter of a Black, the Lestranges were willing to make a sacrifice, but the higher family of the Malfoys chose Narcissa. In fact, it was to Bellatrix's advantage that Andromeda had become a turncoat and fallen in love with a Mudblood, for otherwise it would surely have been Andromeda Lestrange, Bellatrix thought bitterly.

"When will the wedding take place?"

"This summer, I expect. For we cannot expect Narcissa to be wed before her sixth year, we are not heathens, after all. She shall be married as soon as she graduates, and with your wedding we'll know all the prime spots," gushed her mother, gazing at her daughter happily.

Bellatrix did not mention that her mother was surely married before she had even reached sight of sixteen, although Druella's mention of "heathens" was surely in reference to the new Ministry bill that prevented contracted marriage before the bride was of age, although betrothal was entirely permissible. She also noticed that her own marriage was nothing more than a test run for that of her younger, more acceptable, sister.

* * *

"James, I don't know what my parents will think about having so many wizards over. They haven't seen that many other than me, and I'm afraid that holding a _Christmas_ _party_ will be entirely too much," complained Lily, her pretty face disturbed by worry.

James was sitting on the couch opposite her; he had only recently become one of Lily's friends, and was attempting to maintain this position while continuing to hex Snape and other Slytherins. However, he had been specifically requested by Sirius to ask for this favor, and he was determined to make the best attempt at it, or die in the process.

"My parents will organize everything, only, our house has got the most ferocious infestation of er, Ashwinders, and it'll be dreadful having a party amidst all that, and you know how it is," ended James rather weakly.

"Are you sure it's Ashwinders and not say, Basilisks?" retorted Lily rather sharply.

"Honestly Lils, do you think I'd ask this of you if it were just a lark? Sirius' parents have their own Christmas fete every year, and I don't think that it's suitable for any Muggle-borns to attend that horrific thing, and well, my mum really enjoys this bash."

Fortunately for James, Mary Macdonald—one of Lily's closest friends—had taken this recent time to become besotted with Remus, and was eager to increase the likelihood that the group of friends would see more of each other over winter holidays. James neglected to mention that Remus would rather nurture flobberworms than spend another moment with Mary Macdonald.

"Oh, Lily—do let him have it with you— " pleaded Mary, as James continued his tale of woe.

James had adopted his most charming and heart-wrenching air for the last part of his abridged soliloquy, and it appeared that his efforts were _not_ wasted, for Lily seemed to be gazing at him in something more akin to admiration than repulsion.

"Oh, I suppose so," replied Lily, before James engulfed her in a hug.

* * *

Bellatrix was finally sitting alone in her room, pondering the whereabouts of Sirius, who had been mysteriously absent for the past three days. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of him with that girl, Cornelia. She tried to remember what she knew about Cornelia—they were both purebloods—_surely_ there must be something there. Unfortunately, it seemed that Cornelia had hitherto been too unimportant to merit notice. However, and her red lips curved into a smile at this thought, she was sure that his game with Cornelia would end soon, and Sirius would return to her.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Come in, darling."

To her dismay, instead of Sirius, it was Lucius, who walked in; clad in the darkest black robes he had ever seen anyone wear. They were almost like her own black silk, only these did not even whisper when he walked. Lucius seemed harder than the last time they had seen each other, his pretty face too serious, and his dark grey eyes flashing a haunting green, almost as though he had a mission.

"Hello Bellatrix. I don't have much time to deliver this message, so we shall not tarry with your social dalliances."

Bellatrix was not accustomed to Lucius taking charge of the situation, so she merely nodded as he continued without preamble.

"There is a man, who attended Hogwarts some years before you or I entered here, who came from a very old bloodline. Although this line was somewhat tarnished by Mudblood ancestors, the main line remained very pure, if only for the reason that it was the line of Salazar Slytherin himself."

Bella almost allowed herself a faint gasp of awe, but caught herself when she saw Lucius waiting for her reaction. Lucius leaned closer, much like a child about to share a particularly juicy morsel of gossip. Unfortunately, this information was not as trivial as gossip.

"Many years ago, also before you or I were attended here, he formed a group of his closest friends, determined to finally cleanse the population of wizards to retain only those that his honored forefather had deemed worthy of magic. He was prepared to wage war against our corrupt society that is led by Mudbloods and Mudblood lovers. He is still prepared to return the wizarding world to our roots, the very roots that define the Black and Malfoy families. Your uncle was a member of his band."

Bellatrix Black, when she first comprehended this information, encircled by Lucius' arms, thought of her uncle Orion, Sirius' father, the demanding patriarch of the Black family. However, the very nature of Lucius' speech affirmed that it was her _other_ uncle, her mother's elder brother, Alden A. Rosier (1) who was referenced. She had only met this particular uncle twice in her life, although she saw his son Evan often enough at school. He was quiet, almost unnaturally so, considering her mother's garrulous tendencies. Uncle Alden was also known for being frighteningly mysterious, often leaving his family for months at a time. Perhaps, he, like Lucius, went on missions.

The most important part of that statement was Lucius' reference word, "was". Her uncle was dead. As treasured as family and purity of blood was to the Blacks, no one had ever told Bellatrix that her Uncle had died. She certainly did not wish to know _how_ he died.

"Now, our Lord has decided that this is a proper time to finally commence our primary operations. However, these operations require a delicate and intelligent mind, and plenty of powerful magic. It is my privilege to invite you, Miss Bellatrix Black, to Malfoy Manor at seven o'clock this evening, to become better acquainted with Tom Marvolo Riddle, or as he likes to be called, Lord Voldemort."

Lucius bowed deeply, and in the tradition that he had executed many times before, for many school dances, Slug Club parties and Ministry balls, he held out his arm, palm facing toward the ceiling. In perfect pureblood etiquette, a scroll appeared on his upturned hand, magically unrolling itself to show Bellatrix a glimpse of the words inside. It cooled, and fell to Bellatrix's outstretched hand. Bella wasn't quite sure what to do, so she took a humorous approach.

"Why Lucius, it surely wasn't necessary to go through all that just to invite me to a party!"

However, her lighthearted attempt was met with a stone-faced glare, and Lucius' cutting reply,

"I hope I shall see you there, and take care not to make a fool out of yourself, _Bella_."

* * *

Alden means "Old Friend" in Old English. The A stands for Agathocles, which is only my history buff side airing its knowledge.

We shall be seeing some of Lord Voldemort in the future, not to mention his new recruits.


	12. The Lord's Favorite

_**Chapter Twelve: the Lord's Favorite**_

Tomorrow marked the beginning of winter holidays, a time that fluctuated between being the happiest and the most depressing points of Sirius' young life. This was mostly dependent on whether he was returning to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

"Don't worry, once that betrothal ceremony is over and done with, you can come crash at my house. My mum will be delighted to have you and Peter over for winter hols. She always wishes that she had many children," sighed James, as though his mother ought to have been content with her one irrepressible son.

"I wonder who's getting betrothed this time. I thought we'd run the gamut of all our distant relations when Rabastan Lestrange got betrothed to great Aunt Callidora's granddaughter last Christmas. That was a horrific ceremony, although Frank was there, thankfully. Mum won't talk to any of our Longbottom relations because Augusta Longbottom is good friends with Griselda Marchbanks, who, in her words, is a 'no-good dirty Mudblood loving whore'."

"You don't know?" asked James, rather carefully, as though not to disturb something rather precarious.

"Do you? I know that my family sends out those lovely announcements each time to all of our pureblood brethren," joked Sirius, looking at his best friend in amusement. James' face had gone rather white in anticipation of Sirius's question.

Luckily for James, Remus and Peter chose this moment to finish packing their trunks and appear on the platform, waiting for the train.

"Are you lot going to study for OWLs this hols? I heard a few of the upper-class prefects talking about how hard they were," put in Remus, barely recovered from his monthly transformation.

"It's not all about exams, Remus," returned Peter, rather exasperatedly, and James and Sirius were rather inclined to agree with him.

"I'm going to get a fine scolding from mother, sit through another boring ceremony, and then off to the infamous Potter's Christmas party," announced Sirius, giving James a significant look.

"It'll be the infamous Evans' Christmas party this year, fortunately or unfortunately," replied James, earning quizzical glances from both Remus and Peter.

"Do you mean Lily Evans? How is she holding a _wizard_ party in her house?" asked Peter, rather perceptively.

"We've got this awful Ashwinder infestation. The house could burst into flames in minutes. Dad's been a tad careless with the Floo powder as of late," explained James in the gravest of manners.

Remus remained quiet for the remainder of the train ride, implying that he was not quite convinced by James' Ashwinder explanation. However, Peter was properly pacified, allowing for a raucous discussion concerning the fates of various British Quidditch Teams for the coming season.

"I really don't think Puddlemere has got half a chance, honestly, I don't care what they do with that new Chaser and training diet they've got him on…"

Sirius was shaking his head at James, his Muggle trousers sloppily tugged on atop his boxers, his finely pressed shirt only half-buttoned.

"Sirius!" came the shrill voice of Narcissa, waiting impatiently in a Muggle sundress.

"Oh shush up Cissa, you'll break the mirrors," returned Sirius, exasperated by his cousin's high-pitched voice.

"Have a good holiday and see you at the Christmas party," called James, Remus, and Peter, waiting for their own parents to arrive.

Lily ran up to him, her red hair escaping the severe bun she had donned a la McGonagall. She hugged him quickly, and handed him a pretty invitation.

"To the Christmas party, of course. Have a lovely hols," she said, smiling happily.

Cornelia Crouch was behind Lily, looking just as concerned as Remus about OWLs. She was waiting with her younger brother, who seemed rather reluctant to change out of his Slytherin robes.

"Do have a nice holiday, Sirius."

"I will, Cornelia."

"Don't be _too_ awful to your parents."

"What if I can't help it?"

Cornelia looked at him patronizingly. She could see her mother approaching—her sandy thatched hair and wispy figure visible from a distance, and both she and her brother gathered her trunks. If her father had been here, he would have rebuked her brother for failing to change into Muggle clothing properly—as it violated the International Statute of Secrecy.

As Sirius waited with Narcissa and Regulus (Bellatrix had Apparated home) on the train platform, he watched the brown-haired witch and her family walk away.

* * *

The way to Malfoy Manor was unnecessarily dark, but due to the Anti-Apparition wards about the mansion, this was the only way of getting there. She had come here countless times before, mostly as Lucius' guest, but also to various pureblood parties or social outings for the Council of Fourteen. Abraxas Malfoy, Lucius' father, took his responsibility as family patriarch very seriously. She could hear footsteps around her, but Lucius' manner had demonstrated that this was _not_ a social gathering.

"Hello Bellatrix, Rabastan. I'm sure we are expecting your brother, Rabastan?" greeted Lucius, clad in those dark robes once again.

The chronically laconic Rabastan merely nodded in reply.

She quickly caught Lucius' eye, but his expression further told her that she would not receive knowledge any earlier than the other guests. However, these _other guests_ were also familiar, Flint, Nott, and Montague. Bellatrix found this very odd, since this was a _recruiting_ meeting, considering the information she had gleaned from Lucius' introduction. Her guess was that there were multiple meetings, each a close group. This group in particular, was populated with members of the Concillarium and the most exalted families on the outskirts. She was very interested in meeting Tom Marvolo Riddle, friend of her uncle's.

They were all gathered in one of the Malfoys' basement rooms, sparsely furnished. To Bella's slight surprise, Abraxas Malfoy was _not_ present, indicating that he was not aware of the meeting. The tallest chair appeared to be reserved for the promised Lord himself.

"Good evening, my dear friends and acquaintances," announced a man, standing alone at the entrance to the room.

Bellatrix's glance drank in the wizard's appearance, and it was quite different than she had anticipated. He was tall, and quite handsome, but with certain mistakes that made his sharp features less attractive than they would have been otherwise. His cheeks were too waxy to be quite real, as though a candle had been held too close to his skin. His face was as pale as death itself, but unusual in a way that Bellatrix found intriguing rather than repulsive. But what was most astonishing to Bella were his eyes, eyes that she had never seen on anyone else. They were dark, coal black to match his hair, but were cut with a slice of red. More than any other person she had met, Bellatrix believed that Tom Riddle was evil.

"I have summoned you all here in different manners, to ask you to join me in what I believe is a noble quest. For too long we have been oppressed by those who believe that Muggle borns are worthy of the same education and opportunities as we, governed by a corrupt society. It is our duty, as the elite guardians of this world, to ensure that what our forefathers strived for does not go by the wayside. Most importantly, to carry on what my ancestors, Salazar Slytherin first demanded of the wizarding world. I want you to become my council in this matter, a council to reflect the honored fourteen. I want you to become my Death Eaters."

Silence greeted this odd request, but Bellatrix remembered her only conversation with her uncle, Alden Rosier.

* * *

She was a girl of eleven, newly minted from Slytherin and Hogwarts. It was one of those tiny family reunions where only her aunts and uncles were invited, as opposed to the entire oppressive Black family. Naturally, the children were sent off to play together, since they were all very close in age. Bellatrix was the eldest, followed by Andromeda, who was particularly eager to stay close to her sister since she would be attending Hogwarts in a year. Narcissa, Sirius, and Evan were all nine, and Regulus brought up the rear with a fresh seven years. Evan had a younger sister, but at four, Yew was too young to leave Aunt Callista's side.

But she was too old to be tied down to her younger siblings and cousins! Bellatrix crept down the corridor until she could hear the adults' conversations. Yes, there was the deep baritone of Uncle Orion, oddly similar to the shrieking tones of Aunt Walburga. The laughing voice of Uncle Alphard was sometimes interjected, although apparently unsolicited. Finally, the light, almost imperceptible tones of Uncle Alden were sometimes heard, but only to speak of something forbidden. Too late, she heard footsteps, but she couldn't go anywhere.

"Bellatrix, listening at keyholes, my dear?"

It was her Uncle Alden, dark and handsome. He raised an eyebrow at her antics.

"I was tired to being with the children. I'm a first year at Hogwarts, you know."

"Practically a lady, I suppose. I don't wonder at you tiring of your immature siblings."

"I only wanted to know what you talk about. Mama never tells me, you know."

"What would you like to know, my dear?" asked Uncle Alden in that avuncular way that no one in her family truly possessed. But at eleven she was too young to know the concepts of manipulation and recruitment, and more preoccupied with getting what she really wanted, which was attention. She took his hand, and they made their way to a side sitting room in the big house. The house was _not_ Number Twelve, where most of their family gatherings commenced, but the fascinating Black Country home in Scotland.

"I heard that you are doing very well in your classes, Bella."

"I try, Uncle."

"There are many people in the world who value that sort of skill, Bellatrix. I hope that you will teach Evan what you have learned in school."

"Certainly," came Bella's curt answer. This was clearly not the sort of conversation she had expected to have with her baffling uncle.

"I also made some of my best friends at Hogwarts, Bella. Are you friendly, my dear niece?"

She thought a bit, and decided that she was _not_ really friendly, but had a fair amount of friends just the same.

"I suppose so."

"Good. Now, what sort of people do you want to be friends with?"

This was a bit like being quizzed on your ABC's, Bellatrix thought. It was practically the first or second thing that any pureblood child from a good family learned. A good pureblood does _not_ associate with muggle-borns, or as properly termed, however crude, mudbloods. A good pureblood knows that tradition and manners are held in highest esteem, and it is strictly against etiquette to associate with those who are of a lower class. Magic itself was, by tradition, a privilege for the upper class.

"Purebloods, and not blood traitors."

"Why is that, Bellatrix? Haven't you ever wondered that who made such an arbitrary distinction?"

A truthful answer was not really, because although Bellatrix was curious, she was also quite well-bred, and did not question the doctrines of her parents. This, more than anything else, separated her from her cousin Sirius. She also did not quite know the meaning of "arbitrary".

"No sir."

"That is because it was _not_ arbitrary, Bella. Do you know anything about witch-burnings during the seventeenth century?"

"I'm afraid we haven't covered that in History of Magic yet."

"That's fine, because I'm going to tell you a few things. The religious fanatics, spawned by the Muggle Institution known as the Catholic Church produced a tome known as the _Malleus Maleficarum_. It covered the various ills that witchcraft wrought, and although it labored under the delusion that witchcraft was practiced primarily by women, it had a profound effect throughout Europe."

Bellatrix could only nod, because she was having a little trouble following her uncle's language.

"Not that this was the first time that Muggles had created this sort of edifice to persecute witches. Romans, friends, and countrymen were all known to skewer witches in their day. Perhaps King Arthur, fantastic figure that he may be, was an exception, but that was only because his wizard Merlin was a path to greater power. There was really only one option for the witches and wizards of this time."

"What was that, Uncle?"

"To go into intense hiding. Not to trust anyone who was a Muggle, and create institutions like Hogwarts that did just that."

"Oh, of course."

"But what of Mudbloods? To allow any trace of Muggles into a wizarding institution was like letting a spider into a nest of ants, just waiting for another bout of persecution to begin. We had learned, through difficult trial and error that a Muggle was not to be trusted. Nor were their progeny, despite whatever wizarding tendencies they possessed. Born a Muggle, always a Muggle. Unfortunately, there were those wizards who did not remember, or did not properly experience the horrors that Muggles had once wrought upon the wizarding community. Perhaps it is wrong of me, but I call them the cowards. How would they have remembered the evils and battles we faced, when they were not involved in them?"

His voice was impassioned now, and contained a vibrant tone that Bellatrix had never heard from her reserved Uncle before. Indeed, she was quite transfixed by what she witnessed.

"The Concillarium or council of fourteen was even more important now. They banded together the remaining purebloods that were willing to uphold standards for the good of wizard civilization, and it is those families who you are part of, Bellatrix."

Bellatrix had not often heard of the council of fourteen. She knew that her Uncle Orion sat at the head of the table at their meetings, and that young Sirius had been with him once. The Black family had founded the fourteen, but their matters were not trivial enough to be discussed at general family gatherings. What she _did_ know was that the Rosier family was _not_ a member of the exalted fourteen. It was thought that they had been expelled during the eighteenth century for reasons unknown, but Bella did not like to ask too many questions. Why was Uncle Alden referring to the Concillarium in such a loving fashion?

"One of my mentors from school, is a member of the Second Family. He is beginning a quest to unite those purebloods and purge those who have allowed mudbloods to populate our midst. He will end corruption, and return wizard society to its ideal. That, is what I discuss with your parents, my dear Bella. His quest, of course, takes time to set up. Why, by that time, you may be ready to join the quest yourself. But you're only eleven now, and it's time for you to go play with your cousins."

This was nothing short of an order, but Bella was glad to go. Her uncle rather frightened her. She hugged him goodbye, and ran back to her cousins as fast as she could.

Bellatrix was sure now that her Uncle Alden had been a Death Eater. This was also the last gathering at which his family saw Alden A. Rosier alive.

* * *

Some of you might be confused as to why a Lestrange would marry a Longbottom. The thing is, the daughter was probably not a proper Longbottom – since she was a _granddaughter_ to Great Aunt Callidora, and since Callidora was not removed from the tree upon marriage to Longbottom, it seems that this branch of the family was not too far from the pureblood ideals.

The council of fourteen, which is referred to frequently in this chapter, is a pureblood gathering thought up by Robin4. Basically, it's like the House of Lords for purebloods, only more secretive, if you don't feel up to reading this wonderful fanfiction. The Blacks, Lestranges, Malfoys, and Montagues are all members, whereas other families are on the outskirts. (The Potters and the Delacours are members, if you are interested). The Blacks are the first family, having founded it, but Voldemort's line, the Gaunts, is the second family.

Callista is derived from Kallisto, or _most beautiful_, after a Greek nymph who was loved by Zeus. She was later transformed into a she-bear, and then into the Great Bear constellation by jealous Hera. Her daughter, Yew, is named after the poisonous, but beautiful Yew tree.

I also have some other fun anecdotes in this chapter; some are taken from other books. "Listening at keyholes" is taken from a line in the Alanna series, although "Practically a lady" is from the Sound of Music, when Fraulein Maria dotes upon the young Gretl. "Friends, Romans, countrymen," is obviously purloined from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. The _Malleus Maleficarum_ is a real witch-hunting guide written by two monks, Kramer and Sprenger.


	13. Betrothed and Betrayed

_**Chapter Thirteen: Betrothal, and Betrayal**_

Sirius drummed his fingers impatiently as his mother finished scolding Regulus for his sub-par appearance. Regulus _never_ did have that funny knack for getting things to look right that the rest of the Black family, himself included, seemed to possess. Despite his lackluster performance in school (performance based entirely upon ending up in Slytherin house, that is), Sirius could pull off a cummerbund, a bowtie, striped suspenders, or tails, and even a cravat without much difficulty. Regulus, on the other hand, seemed to look uncomfortable or out of place in a mere robe and tie.

"I don't really understand why you chose a turquoise tie, Regulus. You have _sapphire_ eyes, not turquoise, and it does not show them off at all. I think the lightly striped blue one would be better. And you should change into those midnight blue robes, not these dark black ones. We are not at a funeral. I wish you would take to wearing a cravat, my dear, but I suppose you are too young," continued Mrs. Walburga Black, looking perfectly stately and elegant.

Regulus Black was, of course, only thirteen. He merely nodded and rushed upstairs to change into the aforementioned robes, and to escape his mother's critical eye. He was rather annoyed that despite doing everything that his family expected from him, he never achieved the status of being the favored son. That honor, as with all others, belonged to Sirius.

"Now Sirius, do turn about for me," ordered his mother.

Sirius was wearing an intricately tied cravat on top of a neatly pressed white shirt. The shirt, his cravat, and his black silk robes all had silver accents that complemented his eyes. Sirius could tell that his mother was rather impressed, if against her will, but she had a sort of strange pride regarding her eldest son.

"Keep your shirt tucked in throughout the evening, will you? At that Callidora's granddaughter's ceremony you had it out halfway through, and it was most disturbing."

Once again, Sirius had to hide a smile. He was at that time seeing Olivia Avery, the very pretty elder sister of one of his year-mates. Although she had the same Slytherin dislike of most Gryffindors (not to mention muggleborns), she could not resist charming Sirius Black. It appeared that they had been quite affectionate to one another at one point during the evening, thus disturbing his ordinarily immaculate attire.

* * *

"Bellatrix, that outfit is absolutely perfect. I can just imagine how all the gentlemen will be quite disappointed when they discover that you are being betrothed to another," gushed Mrs. Druella Black, no doubt thinking of her own betrothal ceremony.

Bellatrix could barely resist the urge to give an exasperated sigh. Her mother was really _too_ much, sometimes. Her head was still swimming with everything from last night's meeting at Malfoy Manor, her memories of her uncle Alden Rosier, not to mention all the facts of her whirlwind betrothal. There really was no such thing as a courtship in pureblood arranged marriages. She surveyed her appearance in the mirror, and regarded the elaborate outfit with some satisfaction. It echoed tones of silver and green, her house colors, and her silver necklace displayed the Black family crest. She sat listening to her mother drone on about the guest list as the house elf did her hair.

"Now, the Crouches will be coming, and they _are_ one of the fourteen families _and_ prominent in the Ministry, even if they are blood traitors, so they are one family you _must_ greet. Elladora may think that it is just because she is an old school friend, but Barty Crouch, Sr. ought to know better. The Malfoys, also, must be seated in a place of prominence and _must_ be greeted, for otherwise Narcissa's betrothal may fall through. I'm not sure where to put the Potters, for they are a Concillarium member, but their beliefs are suspect. With any luck, they won't come. Same to hope for the Longbottoms, I believe."

Bella's expression appeared to have frozen from the moment her mother said "the Delacours". She did not hear another word of her mother's lengthy discourse regarding family position and placing. She could only lament that Sirius would not feel the full pang and realization of losing her (as a betrothal entailed) since he would be otherwise occupied with the attentions of Cornelia Crouch.

* * *

_Lord and Lady Cygnus Quentin Black_

_request the honour of_

_Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Delacour and family's_

_presence at the betrothal of their daughter_

_Bellatrix Elise_

_to_

_Mr. Rodolphus Lestrange_

_on Monday, the twelfth of December_

_at nine o'clock post meridian_

_at the Black Family Estate_

_Scotland_

The invitation was engraved, and did not mention any "favor of reply", because the Blacks knew that it would not matter how many people came to their daughter's betrothal ceremony, because it would be an "event" nonetheless. When it arrived, Cornelia was extremely annoyed, as it would encroach on the happy time that she spent alone at home and force her to spend time with people who she understood wished her nothing but ill.

Barty, Jr. had read it aloud when it arrived by owl, and her mother Elladora was remarkably excited to see her friend Druella once more. Once again, Cornelia was at a loss to understand how little her mother seemed to actually see the world. As a result, instead of enjoying the first days of her holiday from school, Cornelia was being shipped off to Scotland in full court regalia.

Her mother Elladora had always lamented that her daughter was not a beauty like Bellatrix Black, and had failed to see Cornelia's other qualities that might be valued. At this juncture, however, Cornelia looked quite well given the hours that her mother devoted to her appearance. Elladora, being a rather short, wispy figure, hoped that at least Cornelia might be thought a beauty that she never was.

Cornelia's hair, rather darker than her mother's, had been curled until it had lost all straightness, and then set into a stiff updo aided with not only magic, but pins. When the house-elf was finally done, her mother came and inspected it with her discerning eyes. Cornelia also rued the day that her mother had seized some ungodly store of Sleakeazy's hair potions.

"Oh Cornelia—if only one of the wizards at this party would look at you. I hope you will not destroy this like your other outfits."

Her mother was evidently referring to the time when her hair had been entirely destroyed because the young Cornelia had fallen into a lake near some ancestral home or another. Cornelia knew that her mother had long lamented that her daughter did not have some exotically colored eyes—she would have died for Lily Evans' emerald ones—but made up for it by buying extremely expensive dress robes.

"I'm terribly glad I'm not a girl when we go to these betrothal things."

"And why is that, dear brother?"

Barty looked like he was about to say one thing-but was unsure of the response that it would yield-and quickly interjected,

"Because I would look absolutely appalling in a dress."

"I think it would be rather an improvement."

"Oh, wouldn't you?"

Cornelia and her brother used to get along very well—at least—before he entered Hogwarts. Professor Slughorn had spoiled him entirely—doting upon him because of his father's position at the Ministry—and he had fallen in with a group of pureblood wizards that Cornelia did not entirely trust. Still, it was nice to forget the wall that so easily divided tham these days, at least occasionally.

* * *

Sirius crept into Bellatrix's room, wanting to see his nervous cousin before her ceremony. Although, he thought ruefully, the chances of Bellatrix ever being nervous were not very high. She was probably sleeping.

"Trixie?"

"Come in."

She was stunning, and Sirius felt pangs of jealousy as he realized again and again what those robes meant. She would never be his again, even if she ever had been. However, there was an air about her that he had not noticed before, as though she carried around the thrill of the forbidding silken robes with her all the time.

"I want to show you something, my cousin."

He felt for a second like the thirteen year old boy, receiving his first kiss. Completely vulnerable, knowing only what his elder cousin wanted him to know.

"All my life, I think I have prepared you for something more important. Perhaps my own family prepared me as well, but until yesterday, I did not quite realize what this preparation was for. You see, we have this goal," she began, her glittering eyes gazing deep into Sirius' own. She was rolling up the sleeve of her left arm.

But Sirius' mind was not on his cousin. Or even the delightful Olivia Avery. It was on a memory, from six years ago, just after he had attended the Concillarium with his father. Oddly enough, it was also the first time he met Cornelia Crouch, who at the time lived abroad with her parents.

* * *

"Hullo, I'm Sirius," greeted a boy of about nine or ten, with black hair that fell into his face. He was a confident little boy, with a touch of innocence behind his grey eyes.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Cornelia. Are you here with your father?"

"Of course. Who else would I be here with? You're not from England, are you?"

Cornelia felt that the boy was remarkably perceptive. She was of course English, but had not lived there as her father was studying foreign languages for the last few years.

"It's because of your robes, by the way. They don't have that make in England."

"For a boy, you know a lot about robes."

"Boredom, I guess. Mum wants me to be friends with the most awful crowd at home. This boy with the blondest hair, like my cousin Narcissa really, with some name like Lashes. He's a fair bit older than me, so it's not _quite_ as bad. And these two brothers, they have pretty funny names too. I'm alright just with my cousins, even though Bella's a bit frightening sometimes."

This all tumbled out fairly fast, giving Cornelia the impression that the boy did not associate with that many people who he could tell the truth to, or at least confide in. Cornelia looked a little bit sad—all she had was her brother—and they didn't seem to spend time with any cousins.

"We've been living in France and Germany for the last few years. Father is very strict about our education, though. He was very reluctant to bring me to the Concillarium meeting because of the disruption."

One of the adult attendees remarked that perhaps he was reluctant to bring her because his heir was a girl. At this comment, Cornelia flushed a bright red. Sirius hadn't noticed that she was just as young as he was—maybe even younger. Her eyes became very hard at the suggestion.

"I don't think _that_ would be something to be embarrassed about." And she glared at the wizard's retreating back.

"Oh, don't mind him, he's just Montague," reassured Sirius.

But that wasn't quite the memory that Sirius was looking for, as much as he enjoyed talking to Cornelia, he was looking for quite a different conversation.

* * *

_Footsteps down the hall. A quick detour into the dark side room, lit by a single candle_.

Sirius was quite tired. Half an afternoon playing hide and seek with his cousins was fun, but tiring. Hopefully, this corner room would elude them for long enough, and allow them to get interested in something else. Perhaps the sliding doors underneath the bookcase would be _just_ big enough to fit a nine year old boy on the tall side. He was almost ten, though.

He didn't notice Bellatrix's uncle sitting there, illuminated by the single candle. So naturally, it quite frightened him when the man spoke.

"It's Sirius, isn't it?"

"Yes, sir. Mr. Rosier, right?"

"That's quite right. Are you excited about going to Hogwarts, Sirius?"

"I'm not due for another year, sir. Andy's going this next September, though."

"Do you think you'll be in Slytherin house?"

Sirius very nearly did a double take, for no one ever asked him that question. It was merely _expected_ that he would end up there, just like the rest of his family. However, it seemed to him that Mr. Alden Rosier had noticed the very same thing that Sirius himself had only begun to notice. He wasn't _quite_ like the rest of his family.

"I do believe so, sir. Both mother and father were in it, and Bella's in it."

"Do you know what sort of friends you'll have?"

Sirius had no way of knowing that his cousin had been asked the very same question only minutes before, and given a most satisfactory answer. Alden Rosier had been sent to the Black family house by his master, Lord Voldemort (although very few called him that, then), to see if any of the progeny of the illustrious Black family were eligible to be future _servants_ of the Dark Lord. Explicitly, both the eldest girl and the eldest boy were to be tested and questioned. It was to Rosier's advantage that both had entered the room of their own accord, with only minimal tweaking of auras and charms within the house itself.

Rosier grinned as Sirius sat deep in thought. The estate itself wanted them to join the Dark Lord. Bellatrix had been quite suitable, but Sirius was the more powerful. The Black bloodlines had finally converged once more to produce an heir, and he was destined to be powerful. However, he was too curious, too flighty, and too confused to be properly interpreted.

"I expect my friends will be anyone who's a good amount of fun. I do detest boring people, like that Lashes boy."

Rosier had no way of knowing that Sirius was quite proud of the nickname that he had given Lucius Malfoy, by virtue of his lengthy blonde eyelashes or the rumored times he had been beaten by his domineering father, Abraxas. All that mattered was that Sirius' parents had failed, and had not imparted the proper knowledge to the boy.

"Is there anyone you should_not_ be friends with?"

"A good lot of people, I suppose. I do find a good many of my cousins boring."

"Goodbye, Sirius."

Sirius was quite glad to leave Bella's uncle in the side room, and was thankful that he was not his own uncle. Imagine asking such preposterous questions as though they actually mattered! As though anyone could properly know who they would be friends with before they met them.

* * *

"We are gathered here for the betrothal ceremony of Bellatrix Elise Black and Rodolphus Alessander Lestrange. Please rise for the formal presentation of their pureblood lineages to ensure the purity of this union."

Sirius watched somewhat disinterestedly as the Vicar presided over the ceremony. His head was still swimming with his memories and what Bellatrix had shown him only moments before she was torn away to take her place in the hall. As was required for an official pureblood marriage, both bloodlines were to present their family crests, family histories, and undergo a quick, but painful test. Since the Blacks were the first family of the Concillarium, they were given precedence over the Lestranges, a fact that Sirius noted with some amusement. Most pureblood traditions would not allow the precedence of the woman over the man, regardless of the other circumstances, but perhaps this excused the Blacks from providing any sort of dowry for their daughter, as was required in the most ancient of these traditions.

Bella stepped forward, looking almost regal in her finery, and sat upon the rather uncomfortable wooden chair that was at the front of hall. Sirius' Uncle Cygnus presented the scroll detailing the Black family lineage, and a scarf embroidered with the Black family crest. Druella did the same, only with the Rosier bloodline, and a letter of approval signed by her brother.

"And so we present once more, Bellatrix Elise Black, daughter of Lord Cygnus Quentin Black and Lady Druella Rosier Black, granddaughter of deceased Lord Pollux Everett Black and Lady Irma Crabbe Black from the father's side, and Evan Slade Rosier and Elise Gamp Rosier from the mother's side. A single drop of blood must be extracted to ensure that this is indeed, Bellatrix Elise."

Sirius' breath caught for a moment – what if they lifted her left sleeve, lifted and saw the blight on her soul that not even the purest of blood could diminish?

The Vicar made a swift but intricate motion with his wand, and the entire hall echoed with the force of his spell. For a moment, even Bellatrix's own parents seemed to doubt the purity of her blood. However, the Vicar's wand tip glowed gold, and the hall exhaled in their relief. Sirius, too, exhaled, but it was a different relief. Relief that his beautiful cousin had not been discovered for what she was. Bellatrix sat down, looking surprisingly exhausted from the ritual. It was Rodolphus' turn, and the dark locked man rose, his parents close behind him.

The ritual continued, with Rodolphus repeating the actions of his affianced.

Sirius saw the figure of Cornelia Crouch, hidden by Bartemius Crouch's large form. Instead of going to her, he turned away. And looked at Bellatrix, beautiful Bellatrix, becoming even more trapped into the world she wanted to be a part of.


	14. Reception

_**Chapter Fourteen: Reception**_

Sirius stood at the corner of the mansion's expansive ballroom, toying with a martini. He looked at the hundreds dancing to a soft, sweet, waltz, and mourned his own stupidity. Again and again he saw her-beautiful Bellatrix-twirling in the arms of Moldy Roldy.

"Sirius? Is everything all right?"

It was Cornelia. She had discovered, as was true of so many pureblood events, that she did not know anyone worth talking to, especially as Andromeda had refused to come.

The bartender had finally stopped Sirius from throwing back the fire whiskies, and as a result he was left alone with the rather sorry looking, however classy, Muggle drink. He tried to make a sound, but was left smiling stupidly at the angel, clutching the martini.

"Why, you have gotten yourself absolutely dead drunk. I am rather ashamed at you, getting trashed at your own cousin's betrothal," chastised Cornelia, trying to make small talk, and wondering if her mother would notice if she slipped out and went into the giant library on the Estate.

Sirius saw where she was looking and laughed.

"You don't want to go there—it's filled with very Dark books and books on wizard genealogy."

"How are you to know that that is not my taste?"

"Well, you seem to have avoided everyone else here—and I know that you're not a fan of mine—so I would suppose that you have different tastes from most of the Dark wizards here," continued Sirius, astutely.

Cornelia gave a sad smile.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. I don't know why we keep going to these—father hates most of the people here, but there's a part of him that is absolutely obsessed with keeping up appearances. And mother might just die if we fell out favor with _society_. Everything she does is calculated to make sure that we don't offend someone."

"And your brother seems to be friends with mine," added Sirius, making a face.

"Erstwhile friends, I think."

"With parents like that, I thought you would have turned out like Narcissa. Then again, we still have Andy, so I suppose they're not absolute failures."

Cornelia was silent, reluctant to say anything about Bellatrix—especially as it was her betrothal that they were attending.

"You are friends with her, aren't you? Together in Ravenclaw?" asked Sirius, trying not to fall off the chair that he was sitting on.

"She really misses how things were, you know. But I don't think it'll ever be the same, now that so much has changed."

Sirius was surprised to find that Cornelia was crying. Cornelia had always been the spitting image of her father, following the rules to the letter, never a hair out of place. He had even joked in the past that she probably cut her hair with the same slide-rule that her father seemed to use for his mustache. His firewhisky drenched brain seemed to suggest that he should move closer, which he achieved with some difficulty. Neither his chair nor his legs seemed quite steady.

Cornelia turned to him, and went down a rather surprising line of attack,

"And what about _you_! Pretending that everything is fine and dandy—even though you're in Gryffindor? Your strange relationship with women? Your strange relationship with Bellatrix?"

At hearing Cornelia's rather loud whisper of the word "Bellatrix"—many of the dancing couples turned. There was an unfortunate pause in the music just then.

"I have _no_ strange relationship with Bellatrix," Sirius whispered, trying to draw Cornelia closer to him so that she wouldn't continue making a scene. She pushed his arm away, her tears now dry and whispered scathingly—

"Spineless." And Cornelia left shortly thereafter, having made some excuses to her family.

* * *

At this rather inopportune moment, Sirius' mother descended upon him to comment upon his attire and intoxicated state.

"Now, I'm glad to see that you have kept that shirt tucked the entire time. However, your hair leaves something to be desired. And I would prefer you to desist from making these little scenes with your girlfriends each time we have a betrothal. People are beginning to comment upon it," scolded his mother, despite an odd glimmer in her eyes.

The Crouches sudden exit from the Black betrothal was commented upon by the lively tongues of the English pureblood society, but Sirius would not participate in it. His cousin and her affianced invited him and his brother to get together for "the younger set", and he was decidedly unlike his charming self the entire time.

"Sirius, darling, that Crouch girl was never any good," consoled Olivia Avery, her wit giving out at the last moment.

"A bit high-nosed, that entire family, if you ask me," put in Rabastan Lestrange, his arm encircling the waist of the elder Avery sister. Sirius nearly sneered in reply, but caught himself in time by the semblance of propriety.

Narcissa, who had been recently invited to this fete by her elder sister, had taken Bellatrix's advice to heart, and was eager to put it into action. Severus was missing from the get together, but she had clearly noticed the eye of the distinguished Lucius Malfoy upon her.

"A weekend in _Le Château de Mal Foi_ is just what is scheduled, my dear Narcissa," crooned the blonde-haired gentleman, taking notice of Bellatrix's displeasure.

"That would be lovely, Lucius. I'm sure I can go as long as Mama approves," answered the naïve little girl.

"She would be a fool not to, Cissa," continued Lucius, glancing at Bellatrix to ensure that his rejoinder did not pass unobserved.

"Aunt Druella always did enjoy the tramp, did she not, Lucius?" smirked Sirius, as Rabastan's arm candy eyed the elder Black brother jealously.

"_Aunt_ Druella comes from a noble family, Sirius," reminded Evan, always defending the Rosier blood.

"But I do think that she _married_ a family far nobler than her ordinary destiny might have allotted her. At least you've inherited the Black looks, Bellatrix," returned Regulus, noticing clearly where the battle lines were drawn. Sirius glanced at his younger brother warily—afraid that Regulus' quick tongue would get him into trouble. For all that Sirius pretended he didn't care-Regulus was still his little brother.

"At least she had somewhere to get looks from, we can't all be _Yaxleys_, Rabastan" spat Lena Carrow, who was another of Sirius' admirers. Rabastan and his brother flinched slightly; their mother was of the Yaxley family. Moldy Roldy thought he had the last laugh however, as he made some comment about Leandrene Carrow's rather mysterious parentage just loudly enough that Lena could hear it and blush.

"I will see you in the Chateau then, Lucius," nodded Cade Travers, making an elegant exit from the party that seemed so keen on becoming ugly.

"Of course, Travers, and bring Rosalyn, she'll be happy to see us," replied Lucius, his eyes not leaving Sirius and Bellatrix, who were now sitting together.

"Narcissa not enough to satisfy? _I will see you in the lovely Chateau then, Lucius. I'll be sure to bring my most attractive female friends, Lucius_. Come now, Regulus, we mustn't be associated with such _pleasant_ company much longer," was Sirius' blithe answer, as he grasped his younger brother's arm vigorously, and eyed Bellatrix as though they had something to discuss.

Bellatrix merely nodded, as fiancée to one side, and blood relative to the other, she could ill-afford to join in battle. She joined him outside, out of earshot of the others. Regulus had already gone ahead, and was waiting next to the Portkey.

"Please Sirius, come again."

"Don't worry. I will."

"I do not think that was _quite_ necessary, Sirius."

"Hang whatever you think is necessary, and for once see what is really there Bellatrix, instead of what is inside your own pretty world."

"I want revenge just as sweetly as you do, my cousin, against both my darling sister and her blonde paramour."

"I only want Lucius to have a _delightful_ surprise sometime soon."

And for a time they were just like they were before, the scheming cousins, thinking hedonistically of only their own pleasure and manipulation.

Bellatrix was still tied into the tight green and silver bodice, its draping sleeves still covering the bleeding mark upon her arm.

"How far are you Cornelia, then, as Olivia says?"

"She is taking some time."

"Have you thought about what I asked you last night?"

"About?"

"The mission."

"The thing about killing all Muggleborns because their ancestors tried to kill us. It sounds like a fantastic idea, Bellatrix, I do so enjoy killing," mocked Sirius, his grey eyes staring into her blue ones.

"Don't be sarcastic. I want you to regard this _seriously_, if possible."

"You don't really believe him, do you Bella?"

For the first time, Sirius was afraid about what Bellatrix might say. No matter what he told James when he asked—he always had an excuse for her—oh she only put those Muggleborns in detention because she wanted to be respected by her house. No, she couldn't have said that about Lily. No, she didn't mean it when—

It was his tenderest name for her, not the ridiculing _Trixie_, the ever-formal my cousin, but the name he used when he didn't want the charade they called life to come in the way.

"I believe him, Sirius. I am honored to believe him. That is why I am honored to have his mark imprinted on my arm. I am honored to believe and serve Lord Voldemort."

"Why did he contact you?"

"I suppose Lucius was in charge of it, something about a mission. But the Dark Lord has been around for a great many years, Sirius. We've always been selected,_chosen_, for this noble mission," explained Bellatrix, her exquisite sapphire eyes glowing with the thrill of such a cause.

"Who selected us?"

"My uncle Alden. The Blacks are so noble, so pure, how could we _not_ be chosen? And you, the son of _two_ members of the first family, why such an honor would never be bestowed upon anyone less worthy."

Sirius shook his head, trying to forget Cornelia, and her criticism. But even if he forgot Cornelia, there would be James, and James' stunning Lily, and Remus, and all the rest of everyone who made it clear where he ought to stand, despite what his bloodline attempted to convince him. He turned, his grey eyes blazing, and took his elder cousin by the shoulders.

"Bella, Uncle Alden is dead. I hope you know that. And he was _your_ Uncle, not mine. All that joins us now is our bet."

Bellatrix tossed her beautiful head. She looked into Sirius's steely grey eyes.

"And you think you are all it will take to change me? You are the _only_ one in our family who doesn't agree with me—just look at your own brother."


	15. The Order Reunites

_**Chapter Fifteen: The Order Reunites**_

The Blacks had just returned from their country home, and the sundry gatherings that followed it. Sirius was not sure what upset him more, the actions of Cornelia or those of Bellatrix. He strongly suspected that it was a mixture of both, but did not intend to convey these sentiments to either party. The light from Regulus' room was on, and for once, he almost wanted to confide in his younger brother. A second later, the sentiment seemed almost laughable, and he continued packing. He was fleeing to the Potters' for their Christmas Party, having had quite enough of the Black brand of education and cultivation to last him his holiday.

He closed his trunk with some difficulty, having stuffed Christmas presents into it in addition to his robes and school equipment. His journey by Knight Bus would be an opportunity to ponder everything swimming in his mind. Sirius tugged the grey trench atop his travel robes, and walked quietly to the foyer of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. He couldn't hear anything except his father snoring, and the disgruntled mutterings of some of the house elves. Perfect time to leave.

* * *

Bellatrix Black woke up in the middle of the night. It was settled then, she was going to marry Rodolphus Lestrange as soon as she graduated from Hogwarts and settle into the easy life of a pureblood wife. The mark on her arm was burning, not as though her Dark Lord and master was calling her, but burning a mark into her very being. She would not allow herself to be just another pureblood wife, once powerful, once feared, but now simply a pawn. As a Death Eater, she would be feared in her own right, and soon, the name Bellatrix Lestrange would be as renowned for her cruelty as for her beauty and pureblood social ties.

* * *

She was fourteen, listening at the door to her parents' room. Hogwarts was just a month away, when she would be a fourth year, how glorious! A year of new, more difficult spells, and boys, the grand new adventure that she had only suspected would arrive. Even last year, she had noticed the attentions of some of the Slytherin boys in her classes.

"I'm worried about Bellatrix."

"Why, Druella?"

"She's not growing up the way she's _meant_, you know."

"She has excelled in school."

"Oh Cygnus, you know what I mean. Narcissa is so naïve, I know, and I don't understand Andromeda one bit, but Bellatrix."

"But Bellatrix?"

"She's quite a boy, you know. Too confident, and too clever by half. It's not becoming."

The bell rang in the massive house in Godric's Hollow. A woman rushed to open the door with the sort of kind nervousness and speed that might make one think that the black haired boy at the door was her son.

"Sirius darling, you look terribly pale. How have things been with your family?" asked the woman knowingly, who was appraising him further as she asked the question. Sirius' handsome face had broken into a truly happy smile.

"Just fine Mrs. Potter. Nothing too unusual."

"We went to Bellatrix' engagement at your family's chateau in Scotland. It was quite the affair of the season, my dear," continued James' mother. Her bright hazel eyes were glancing at the tall boy every so often as she warmed the meal by magic. Soon another set of hazel eyes had appeared, although this pair was a fair bit drowsier.

"Oh, you've finally arrived, have you? Mum, why are you wasting all this good food on him? He _does_ eat at home, you know."

Sirius only continued shoveling the meal into his mouth. Although he was quite sure that this meal, as the ones at home, was really house-elf-prepared, it somehow seemed more home-grown and personal. Mrs. Potter was a bit older than his own mother, but still had a shock of dark brown hair (with touches of grey, of course). Mrs. Potter immediately began scolding her own son for this comment, which James took with little discomfort.

"Where is your father?"

"Sleeping."

"Wake him up. A _guest_ has arrived."

"Oh come on, mother. Sirius isn't really a guest. He practically lives here."

Mrs. Potter only frowned and began clearing up the dinner for one. Sirius yawned, and spoke for only the second time that night.

"Where shall I move my trunk?"

"The usual room'll be fine. It's right next to mine, and we've got to make plans for the _Evans'_Christmas Ball," replied James airily as he winked rather obviously at Sirius.

Fortunately, Mrs. Potter was putting the dishes away and leaving annoyed notes for the house-elves. However, upon hearing "Christmas Ball", her attention was clearly piqued.

"Why _our_ ball is going to be held at Mrs. Evans' house in beyond me. For goodness sake James, they're _Muggles_. I still can't figure out why you told everyone that we had an _ashwinder_ infestation. Of all things!"

"It's because he really truly likes Lily Evans, Mrs. Potter," offered Sirius, returning James' obvious wink.

"Well, if that's the case, I can't really be annoyed. She's rather a lovely girl, isn't she? A bit too studious perhaps, but it's only to be expected at that age."

Sirius seized this opportunity to take his trunk up the stairs into the room next to James', where he had spent many weeks during his holidays from Hogwarts. It was even decorated in his favorite colors. As he moved in, James stood casually in the doorway.

"I had a time of it convincing Mrs. Evans to hold the party there. I hope it's worth it, Sirius. But anyhow, I've got a delightful secret about tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? It's not even Christmas Eve."

"It's better, if I'm right."

Sirius, although not even half awake, was clearly interested.

"It's a secret meeting, Sirius," whispered James with the thrilled air of a twelve-year old girl.

"Oh, a _secret_ meeting. What would a _secret_ meeting be doing at your house?" asked Sirius rather sarcastically. It was probably the lack of sleep that was damaging his temperament. James brushed away Sirius' sarcasm with his own enthusiasm, and continued brightly,

"Dad's friends, I expect. I only heard a bit of the fire call, and I wasn't supposed to eavesdrop."

James' father worked in the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, and most of his friends were Aurors or Hit-wizards. Naturally, any conversation of theirs involved state security.

"Are they his _friends_ or is it more of an alliance," asked Sirius sharply, his grey eyes darkening.

"What's it to you?" replied James nonchalantly, but enjoying Sirius' further curiosity.

"Are they after someone?"

"I think so."

"Who? Voldemort?"

It was James' turn to act sharply, as he nearly choked from Sirius' question.

"What do _you_ know about Voldemort? They've only just figured out his identity in the department, although Dumbledore seems to have known about it all along."

"He's recruiting," answered Sirius evasively.

"You?" returned James, only half-jokingly.

"Yes."

"And?"

"My family friends," continued Sirius bitterly.

"Bellatrix?"

"Of course."

"What did she say?"

Sirius' handsome face was pulled taut, almost frightened as he confided in his best friend.

"James, she _loves_ the idea. She thinks it's our _destiny_ to destroy Muggle-borns and those who support them. A pureblood goal. That it would be a good idea to bring it up at the Concillarium. And she's taken _his_ mark – the Dark Mark. It's a hideous tattoo upon her arm, and it burns when she's summoned. James – she's only _seventeen_, how could she decide to do this?"

"Sirius, you've always known that Bellatrix _isn't_ you. She's Black through and through."

"She's Black, but she's not evil. She couldn't kill them, just because they weren't _born_ to the right family. She _wouldn't_."

James did not quite know what to say. He knew perfectly well what he thought, but it wouldn't be comforting to Sirius at all. Because, well, Bellatrix Black _would_.

Sirius and James played a round of Quidditch in the morning in the pitch near the Potters' home, and then came home to another delicious lunch. In the evening, Mrs. Potter pulled the two aside with the air of a woman who was not quite sure what she was about to do.

"James, we've planned a special treat for you and Sirius," began James' mother.

James threw a "told you so" look towards his friend, which Sirius did not deign to respond to, and then looked back towards his mother.

"There's that interactive Quidditch game you've been wanting, with the Nimbus one thousand racing brooms and famous players in it. You know, like Joseph Winton and Roderick Plumki," tried Mrs. Potter, clearly confusing two different renowned seekers in her attempts at Quidditch terminology.

In any other circumstances, both boys would have eagerly played this game in the massive attic in the Potters' mansion, but they were aware that they were being distracted from something more important, and far more interesting.

"It's Joseph Wronski and Roderick Plumpton, mum," corrected James, wearing the face that he was supposed to be wearing; excited and anxious to play. Sirius hastened to follow suit, and sure enough, Mrs. Potter was looking more relieved than she was a minute ago, further confirming their suspicions. She smiled, and left towards the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"See? They're trying to get us out of the way so that they can have their _secret_ meeting. It's the only reason why we haven't seen papa at all today, you know," explicated James eagerly.

"Yes, but how _are_ we going to find out what's going on if we're not allowed to see or hear a thing?" pointed out Sirius, dampened by logistical difficulties.

"Three words, my naïve Sirius," announced James.

"Which?"

"Cupboard, and Invisibility Cloak."

After dinner, Sirius and James began playing the Quidditch game upstairs with enough enthusiasm that Mrs. Potter's fears seemed to be allayed.

"Did you unlatch the cupboard door before coming up?"

"Of course. Now explain what we're doing."

"They _must_ be having the meeting downstairs, because it's a secret, you know. They'll all Apparate into the basement entrance, because there are no wards there."

"How do you know?"

"Dad took them down. For cleaning, he said. As if that were any explanation, but he doesn't think I know anything about Apparition."

"Oh, alright. And how will we get into the cupboard?"

"Well, they can't start the meeting until _everyone_gets there. The cupboard is the only closed thing in the entire basement that we can both fit inside. We can't be in the room next to the basement because they'll put a charm around the room."

"What if your mother looks for us?"

"She won't look for us once the people start arriving, so we're fine. And we'll put the simulations into the beds, so it looks like we're sleeping. Are you set?"

"Do I look more like Joseph Wronski or Roderick Plumpton?"

A tall, grey-haired man was the first to arrive. There were bits of auburn in his long locks and beard, and his blue eyes twinkled through his half-moon spectacles. He surveyed the room with some satisfaction.

"Charles, I'm glad we could hold it here. I don't know of many houses with as much protection as yours," greeted Albus Dumbledore.

"It is the very least I could do. I'm honored to be a member of this – Order."

"Where is your son?"

"Upstairs, playing Quidditch with Sirius."

"Oh yes, I remember that Sirius enjoys spending some of his holidays here. They will not know what's going on, will they? It is important to shield the young from these things. Although, Sirius," replied Dumbledore, peering at the man with untidy black hair and glasses.

"No, I'm sure that they are blissfully unaware," assured Charles Potter.

At this point, when James' father and Professor Dumbledore went to greet the next arrival, James and Sirius tiptoed down the stairs, hampered under James' invisibility cloak. They caught hold of the open cupboard door, and crept inside, just before the three figures entered the room once more.

"Was that Moody, the famous Auror?" whispered Sirius with some awe.

"I think so. He's brilliant, you know."

In the next ten minutes, they heard a crowd assemble in the Potters' basement, and a muttered incantation marked the start of the meeting. It was Dumbledore who spoke first.

"I've gathered all of you here because as some of you may remember, the Order of the Phoenix has always stood together as a beacon of good when evil begins to rise. Then, it was Grindelwald. Now, it is one who was a former student of mine, Lord Voldemort."

A young male voice asked,

"Has the Order of the Phoenix existed a long time? I mean, before Grindelwald?"

Sirius nearly gasped, although James, who a split-second before him had thought the same thing, fortunately clapped his mouth shut. A moment later, Sirius whispered hoarsely,

"That's _Fabian Prewett_. He's not much older than us. James – these aren't your dad's friends. It's an _army_."

Another young voice, this time female, answered Fabian Prewett rather sharply,

"Of course it has. Now, don't bother him with such silly questions. I want to know what it is that we have to do."

"Now, now Marlene, we can't hurry Dumbledore," replied a wheezy voice, causing James to jump inside the cupboard.

"Mr. Doge? I never would have guessed…" he began before being shut up by Sirius.

"Elphias, I am pleased by your sentiments, but Marlene has been very to the point. Each of you has been summoned here for a particular mission, which will contribute to the body of information known about Voldemort and his death eaters. Fortunately, I have already been compiling intelligence on the subject, having suspected the designs of Tom Riddle since his days in school, but I have been forced to expand these efforts."

"Why, sir?" asked a voice Sirius recognized as Benjy Fenwick, former Ravenclaw Quidditch captain and five years older than him and James.

"It appears that Voldemort's efforts have finally come to fruition. Many of the unknown deaths in recent times have been caused by him and his followers. In fact, similar instances from the past fifteen years have now been linked to his greater goal. It was only that they were far less frequent in number. However, the increase has been noted, and I'm afraid that it will only continue to get worse. The Ministry has barely begun to recognize this threat, and it will be a time before they take the necessary action."

"Fifteen years?" asked Mrs. Meadowes, echoing the sentiments of James and Sirius in the nearby cupboard.

"Several events, previously dismissed as merely regrettable, seem to be now clearly connected to Lord Voldemort. For example, the accident of your father, Caradoc. Mr. Dearborn was a reputable member of the Wizengamot known for supporting Muggleborns and their rights, much to the dismay of pureblood society. One afternoon, he drowned on a spear-fishing expedition. It seemed perfectly above-board when investigated ten years ago. But who was in that area when the expedition occurred? Trey Mulciber, Eric Nott? Two men we know to be Death Eaters. Perhaps they were not connected, but it is likelier that they were."

"Albus, I do think that they need more than a mere _accident_," suggested the gravelly voice of Alastor Moody.

"There was also the sad werewolf attack on the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lupin. For years they searched for the perpetrator, perhaps another unfortunate werewolf – a victim. But I know today that it was not so. The werewolf that bit Remus Lupin was Fenrir Greyback, vicious child killer and Death Eater."

Sirius and James both gasped, but the rest of the room was just as surprised, and did not hear the sounds coming unbidden from the cupboard.

"_Not_ Remus," mouthed Sirius, his grey eyes wide. Gideon Prewett, only a few years older than his brother, asked the question that was on everyone's lips,

"Was it on _Voldemort's_ orders?"

"Possibly, Gideon. They were always keen to work towards better Muggle-wizard relations, although they were always a very low-key family. However, although Fenrir has always harbored such tendencies, I believe he is more fully utilized under Voldemort, who has sought to create a sort of werewolf army."

A Devon-accented, somewhat unsure voice spoke next, one that both Sirius and James recognized immediately, and were surprised to hear at this meeting.

"Was er, that the only army he was planning ter make? Because, yeh know, Dumbledore," and Hagrid abruptly left off at this juncture.

Apparently, Professor Dumbledore was much more enlightened about this statement than either Sirius or James, because his next words were completely unrelated and perfectly useless.

"Now then, I shall meet with each of you shortly to discuss your possible options for the order. I hope this meeting has put perspective into what we wish to accomplish. Thank you."

Sirius supposed that this was when Dumbledore nonverbally removed the charm around the room, since he heard the sound of footsteps leaving the room. However, both he and James were distinctly astonished when the next sound they heard was that of the cupboard door opening. Luckily, they were still wearing the invisibility cloak, although Sirius could have sworn that Dumbledore's blue eyes were peering right at him through those spectacles. James' father left shortly, but Dumbledore remained. He whispered,

"Now, take off the invisibility cloak, James."

James did as told, but to Sirius' dismay, threw it off him as well.

"Mr. Potter _and_ Mr. Black, I should have guessed."

"Are we going to be arrested, sir?" was James' timid question.

"I should hope not, James. But I do hope that you two understand the importance of what transpired in this meeting today. You are both aware of what is going on, correct?"

"Of course, Professor," replied James while Sirius remained strangely silent.

"Then it is only fair that you have learned what we are doing to defend against it. But I must ask you both not to tell anyone what you have heard. It is a question of the safety of the people whose voices you heard today."

Once again, James replied for the both of them.

Professor Dumbledore began walking expeditiously to the Apparition point, James and Sirius following him through the Potters' basement.

"Before I leave, I hope that what you have heard something that will help you make a decision," was Dumbledore's final enigmatic answer, his blue eyes definitely looking only at Sirius.

And with a faint pop, he disappeared.

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed the introduction to the order. This chapter was definitely lighter than the other recent ones, but it was a case where I allowed Sirius to be the fifteen-year-old he's supposed to be.


	16. Changing Loyalties

_**Chapter Sixteen: Changing Loyalties**_

The annual Black family Christmas Party, official Pureblood event of the year was about to commence. It was picture perfect. At least, that's what Lady Walburga Black thought. Number Twelve Grimmauld Place was dressed to the nines, or maybe to the twelves, and her husband had finally changed into classic black silk robes with sapphire accents. Each house-elf had been perfectly prepped for the evening, and each pureblood family of note had accepted their invitation.

And there, standing on the steps, was her _younger_ son. He had managed to look fairly passable, his robes similar to his father's. His eyes were flashing sapphire, or he would have looked just like his brother.

That's why the party wasn't perfect.

* * *

The Evans' home was done up in a thoroughly wizarding fashion, thanks to the efforts of Potter and Co. Their entrance was made ready for continuous Apparitions, every guest dressed in the height of wizard fashion. Mrs. Potter was standing next to Lily's mother, appearing to give her moral support as she met the Potters' many friends and colleagues.

"My dear Dorea, I was simply _appalled_ to hear of your Ashwinder infestation. It is quite a wonder that the house didn't _burst_ into flames," gushed Elladora Crouch, who had appeared with her children but had made some excuses about Barty Crouch, Sr.'s Ministry work.

Mrs. Potter returned her sympathy with a rather dry comment, and barely refrained from rolling her eyes. At the corner, Sirius enjoyed the discomfort of James' mother, or his Great Aunt, as it were. Pureblood families were a bit confusing.

"I don't think she appreciates the Ashwinder reference, mate."

"You think? She keeps asking why I didn't just say that we had _dragons_ and _basilisks_ nesting in our lawn," returned James, cautiously eyeing a firewhisky.

"Don't, James."

"What was I going to do?" answered James, trying to throw the innocently charming look that Sirius had perfected.

"Lily's looking. Don't screw it up," replied Sirius easily, and left to find a nice butterbeer, and possibly a nice lady with it.

Seconds later, a red-haired sprite appeared before James, her green eyes positively twinkling. She was wearing a modest gown in a sparkling green, and in James' eyes, was a heavenly vision.

"I never knew wizard balls were so nice, James," she said, smiling a pretty, slightly nervous smile.

"They aren't always," responded James, giving her a subtle compliment.

"May I sit here?" asked Lily, indicating Sirius' vacated chair next to James. James could only wonder at his luck, and nodded.

* * *

"The party is wonderful, Walburga," acknowledged Alessandra Yaxley Lestrange, realizing the social position that her son had attained with the recent betrothal.

"Thank you, Alessandra," replied Walburga, her mind focused elsewhere.

"I was only wondering where your eldest son had gone. He is quite a favorite at these gatherings. Although, I realize, with the new developments," asked Alessandra rather delicately.

"He is merely helping out his friend run the Potters' relocated ball. A terrible Ashwinder infestation, I understand. Dorea must be worried," came Mrs. Black's well-rehearsed answer.

Alessandra Lestrange was put-off by the form and quickly hurried away, unable to glean more fodder for gossip. This was precisely Mrs. Black's intention, and she welcomed the break. Pureblood social events were traps for the unwary.

* * *

Cornelia Crouch had found a secluded section of the Evans' home to read a textbook. The side room was rather away from the noise and bustle of the party, so she was surprised to find a slender, rather bony sixteen-year old in the room.

"Oh, are you another one of the freaks?" asked the girl, who had a most dour expression on her face.

"I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," responded Cornelia rather coldly, who didn't appreciate being referred to as a "freak". She opened her copy of _Numerology and Gramatica_ and began to read in earnest. It was only an hour later when Lily entered looking for her that she realized that it was probably not the best manners to hide away reading at a party. As they exited the room, Lily remarked,

"How did you like Petunia?"

"I can't say I have much to go on, but she isn't pleased with me."

Lily looked a bit sad and a bit annoyed,

"Well, as you know, I'm Muggleborn—and we used to be great friends—but then I went to Hogwarts and she didn't and we haven't gotten on at all ever since."

They made their way down the stairs and saw as Mrs. Potter and Mrs. Evans received the additional guests. Mrs. Evans had a shock of beautiful red hair, just like her daughter, and green eyes that were rather lighter than her daughter's.

"Hello Mrs. Evans, Mrs. Potter. Dorea, I am quite surprised at you allowing Charles to fool around with that Floo powder. Honestly, a man of his station should know better. At least you discovered the Ashwinder infestation before it became too bad," chastised the imperious Mrs. McMillan, dragging her husband and teenage son behind her.

Cornelia looked sheepish as Lily introduced her—

"This is my friend Cornelia from school. She had decided to hide away instead of coming to the party."

"Just like Lily, aren't you? Still, it's good to socialize, my dear," said Mrs. Evans, looking approvingly at the slight brown-haired witch.

Mrs. Potter didn't say anything smiled a mysterious smile to herself, noticing exactly where the girl looked when she entered the room.

"Sirius," greeted Cornelia, appraising Sirius' figure. Sirius' face was half turned, and one could only see his profile. He was wearing full length black silk robes, accented with silver, but with a crimson vest underneath. He smirked when he saw Cornelia approaching,

"I keep my Gryffindor closer to my heart. You seem happier to see me today."

"I didn't mean to scold, Sirius."

"Don't worry, I don't remember a word of it," rejoined the black-locked boy, his grey eyes mischievous.

"I meant what I said, though. Only, not so harsh. I wish you would be willing to talk about it. We are coming to Dark time—and we must make our decisions."

"You mean like your father has, Cornelia? I'll tell you what I think when he gets rid of that regulation—or when you decide that he is in the wrong."

"I _do _think that he is wrong. Everyone deserves a trial. But I don't see _you_ doing anything to fight Dark wizards at all, so I hardly think you deserve praise for finding one flaw with my father's plan."

"Don't get defensive, darling. You're quite something," complimented Sirius, ever his charming self.

"Something good, or something bad?" asked Cornelia.

"You know, I really don't know."

"Half the time I can't figure out why Lily spends any time with the lot of you."

"Because we are so amusing. And she only does when she doesn't remember that James is hexing Snivellus."

"Well, Sirius, do you have any _more_ thoughts about how my father should run our law enforcement?"

* * *

"The betrothal was lovely, Bellatrix," complimented Olivia Avery, the lovely blonde who seemed intent on becoming Rabastan Lestrange's mistress when she couldn't have Sirius. Rabastan's young wife, Emily Lestrange née Longbottom looked utterly miserable as she watched her husband meet publicly with the women who were probably his consorts. Smiling slightly, Bellatrix showed no sympathy to the former Gryffindor. Longbottoms should know better than to marry Lestranges.

"Thanks, Olivia."

"Where is that _handsome_ cousin of yours, Bellatrix?" inquired the pretty Rosalyn, whose cat-like green eyes and dark brown hair had attracted Sirius in his youth. Bellatrix mused that her dashing brother Cade had probably inherited the real charm in that family, though. And the extensive fortune. Rosalyn would just end up another pureblood trophy wife.

"Regulus is right here, Rosie," replied Bellatrix, enjoying Rosalyn's discomfort. She was not about to admit that the heir of the house was not present, even though everyone already knew the truth. Rosalyn was also at least six years older than the younger brother, and would never ask after a _thirteen-year-old_.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry Bella, you must have misunderstood. I meant your other cousin," continued Rosalyn, admiring her long, glossy, scarlet nails.

To Bellatrix they looked like talons. Claws, even.

"Did you? How silly of me, then. Why, I believe he's off visiting some childish friend of his. You do know that he is _younger_ than me, Rosie," answered Bellatrix with supreme blitheness, knowing that this indicated her surprise that a _woman_ of nineteen years would care for a mere school-boy. She was also careful to avoid mention of his name.

"Don't poke fun at Rosie, darling Bella. You know we all have rather a blind spot where he is concerned. Although, I wouldn't like to be blind when he was there to look at," interjected Lena Carrow, flirtatiously. She was another pureblood girl who had been occasionally toyed with by the supreme playboy Sirius, who was always charming, but never reliable. It seemed to Bellatrix amazing that these girls would continue being drawn in by his tactics, despite his consistent ill-treatment. Not to mention that Sirius' political views had no bearing on his romantic proclivities.

"Anyhow, I'm sure _you_ miss him," continued Lena, her glossy eyelashes fluttering innocently atop her dark blue eyes.

Miss Carrow, as Bellatrix was well-aware, was not a woman to pass by naively. She too was being sought by the Lord Voldemort, and Bella was determined that the strong-jawed girl could not usurp her position. In her slickest, most saccharine sweet voice, she replied,

"And is it not ordinary for a girl to miss one of her only cousins at such an event? How _droll_ you are, Lena."

Lena Carrow flushed.

* * *

The Christmas party was nearly over, Sirius hovering near James' side as Cornelia and Mary Macdonald occupied Lily's, each speaking barely a word to one another, pretending to be involved with their meal. And in seconds, it was dessert, and Mrs. Evans was bidding goodbye to her satisfied guests. James was sitting, overjoyed, next to Lily and his mother in the dining room. It appeared that Sirius was right, and the absence of Snape was indeed an aphrodisiac.

"I agree with Dumbledore that we should take Azkaban out of the control of the Dementors."

"That is only because you think that the Ministry cannot retain control. Do you also think that we should send envoys to the giants?" added Cornelia, as though Dumbledore's other suggestions were even more ludicrous.

"Yes. Cornelia—you and your father just don't understand the Dark wizards. They all feel that they have to band together because they have been _wronged_—either by the Muggles, or by something else. Why do you think Fenrir Greyback wants to create a werewolf army? Because no one in the wizarding world has accepted werewolves as their own—they _must_ be Dark creatures. But beings who have agency, like the centaurs or the giants—they would choose to be on the right side if we would only let them."

Cornelia looked wonderingly at Sirius. Where was this Sirius when they were in class in History of Magic? Was this the same Sirius who seemed to spend his free time with Bellatrix Lestrange? They were sitting very close together and no one seemed to be in the room—or maybe they were—and Cornelia just couldn't see them. They were extremely close and Cornelia could see the very depths of Sirius's grey eyes.


	17. Andromeda Black

_**Chapter Seventeen: Andromeda Black**_

Sirius was sitting next to his elder cousin Andy, the only one who wasn't a "nancy", after all. He was trying to escape his scaredy-cat younger brother, and his domineering parents. And of course, the many guests who just _wouldn't_ leave him alone. Christmas parties were _such_ a bore.

"Sirius, who do you think you'll marry?" asked Andy, her pretty blue eyes wondering.

"I'm never going to marry. C'mon, I'd end up like _them_. Don't be such a _girl_, Andy," answered Sirius, his expression contemptuous.

"But _Sirius_, I am a girl, you goose. And you mightn't end up like them. Not everyone is like them, you know," explained Andromeda knowledgeably.

"How would you know?"

"I've seen them."

"But Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy are just like them too. And your parents, they're quite a sight."

"Not everyone is a pureblood, Sirius. Some people marry _on_ purpose."

"Not anyone worth anything," pointed out Sirius, "we've been to enough betrothals to see that."

One would guess that they had, since the eight year old was able to pronounce betrothal properly.

"I think it'd be nice to marry someone you picked."

Andromeda was looking thoughtful, a dreamy expression in her bright blue eyes.

"Oooh, and _who_ would that be, Andy? _Lashes_, perhaps?"

"No, never! He's disgusting."

"Who then?"

"I don't know, someone nice, and kind. Who isn't prejudiced like our family?"

Sirius smiled cheekily and asked,

"And what will _he_ look like?"

"Handsome, I guess. What about you, Sirius?"

Andy looked intently at her cousin, curiosity all over her small face.

"Oh, I'll marry the most gorgeous girl in the world."

"Why would you say a silly thing like that?"

"Or maybe, I'll marry the girl's that's the hardest to catch."

* * *

Sirius had left James' house without any notice, leaving a note thanking Mrs. Potter. He had kissed Cornelia—but after that she had left without saying anything—and now he was just confused about what was happening. Once he arrived at Number Twelve, he walked quietly up the stairs, and dropped his magically lightened trunk next to his bed. He was still wearing the black silk robes from last night's party.

He stared at his reflection in the mirror, his perfectly styled hair hanging lankly around his pale face.

"Merlin, if I'd been wearing mascara it would have been streaked across my face. Get yourself together you pansy. Imagine what Mrs. Potter thought. Honestly, you'd think I'd never seen a girl before," continued Sirius, talking to himself in what he thought was a confident voice.

There was a knock on his door, which he hesitated slightly before he opened it.

"Sirius, I hope you enjoyed the _Potters'_ Christmas party," said his mother, sheathed in long, black, fringed robes. He supposed that she thought they were appropriate. He believed that his mother had once been beautiful, but her skin had since pulled taut upon her face, her fairness a tepid yellow.

"I did," he answered hesitantly, trying to fix his appearance.

"You have a visitor, in the meantime," announced Walburga Black, disdainfully.

He quirked an elegant eyebrow in surprise, since he rarely received visitors at home. Not to mention that his mother was not fond of any of his friends who wished to visit him.

"Expecting someone else?" came a lilting, but sarcastic voice from behind him, as he stood captured in thought. He turned around and saw his cousin.

"No, no, I would never dare to expect someone else, darling," he replied, taking in Bellatrix's appearance. It was only the second time he had seen her since the betrothal, and he was still wondering how it had changed her.

"Don't be so flattering, Sirius. I rather like your tendency for abrasion. So, my dear, how _was_ the _Evans_' Christmas ball?"

"It was quite a party."

"And how was last night?"

"Last _night_?" asked Sirius.

"Oh _come on_, my dear cousin. A meeting with Cornelia, perhaps? A I've become quite _bored_ by your dalliance."

"Reading between the lines, I suppose you're asking if I have fulfilled our deal," answered Sirius in a most indifferent manner, glancing at the mirror instead of at his lovely cousin.

"How astute of you, my blighted Gryffindor," mocked Bellatrix pleasantly, her white fingers caressing the back of her cousin's neck as she waited for an answer.

"That would be a no, then, my darling."

"She does not care for your company?"

'The opposite, actually."

Bellatrix raised her eyebrows in amusement, then continued,

"Then why are we _here_ darling?"

"I mean—I think I might actually like Cornelia. We kissed—but just for a second—and then she had to leave because her family was leaving—and I think I might like to see her again."

Miss Black rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Really, we're going to waste all this time talking about a _kiss_?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean, Bellatrix?"

"Oh, nothing. Only that I expected better from you, my protégé."

"It wasn't the right time. You know," attempted Sirius, running his fingers through his hair.

Bellatrix looked at her younger cousin with a disbelieving expression, which could have meant anything from pleasure to scorn; it was always difficult to tell.

"Now, stop wallowing in your feelings. We've got to make calls."

"_We_? Is that the royal we? Because, _I_ have no compulsion to go with you anywhere. Hasn't Moldy Roldy got some sort of fiancé duties to fulfill?"

* * *

"Enchanté, Sirius," cooed Cecilia Montague, a little witch who had recently married Cyriacus Montague in an ostentatious ceremony in Paris.

"The pleasure is mine, Cecilia," returned Sirius, covertly throwing a grimace at his current chaperon, Bellatrix.

"You know, it is very refreshing to talk to a Hogwarts boy, these ones at Beauxbatons, they only want their girls following them around on a string," continued Cecilia, her dark eyes wide in expression.

"Really? You don't say," commented Sirius only slightly sarcastically, his face a picture of interest as Bellatrix elbowed him.

"Or maybe Hogwarts boys are also good for keeping on strings—wouldn't you say so, Andromeda," added Cecilia, with the innocent air of someone who was divulging the juiciest morsel of gossip. She turned her dark eyes to the middle Black sister.

Andromeda, who was wearing simple robes of pale blue muslin and looking uncomfortable at the gathering, opened her light blue eyes distinctly at Cecilia's words. She caught herself as everyone turned to stare at her, and laughed delicately.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Cecilia," responded Andromeda, looking a bit nervously as Sirius as she did so.

"Oh, I think your sisters might like to know what you've been doing, _Andy_ darling."

Sirius could see where this was going, and attempted to help his favorite cousin by interjecting,

"Cade, it's been busy at that shop, has it not? What is it, Borgin and Burkes? Specializing in the trade of the most illicit goods, I understand."

Even as he said this, it was plain to Sirius that no one was distracted by his transparent attempt to change the topic.

"Darling Sirius, Cade has plenty of time to talk about his _dull_ work. I do want to know what Cecilia means, don't you, Bella dear?" replied Rosalyn Travers. Her brother Cade only smiled at Sirius in the most pleasant of manners, since he knew precisely why Sirius had brought up that shop.

"Of course, Cecilia, what _do_ you mean?"

"I have heard that Andromeda has a most exciting paramour now—he announces the Quidditch games," began Cecilia, smiling wickedly.

"Andy, don't withhold such trivial details from your school friends. Who is it?" sustained Olivia Avery, who on Rabastan Lestrange's arm looked a most unlikely friend.

"Oh, Theodore Tonks," replied Andromeda with falsified nonchalance.

Sirius glanced around the room to see his friends and relatives (mostly just relatives) opinion of his cousin's answer. Cecilia and Cyriacus Montague had their characteristic supercilious expressions on their faces, Cecilia still toying with the idea of flirting with Sirius. Only a month ago, Sirius would have been glad for her attentions, but it was just obnoxious now. Olivia Avery had opened her pert little mouth in surprise, but continued fluttering her light brown eyelashes at Rabastan. Rosalyn Travers was paying little attention to the embarrassed Andromeda, but was looking at Sirius with her mysterexious green eyes. Cade Travers was sighing at the antics of his younger sister, and pursing his lips as though Andromeda's comment was merely disagreeable.

It was Lena Carrow who came to their rescue as the "well-bred purebloods" sat in stony silence.

"Oh darling Andromeda, how clever of you! Going after a Mudblood like that, why, it's practically charitable. Quite the way to get that silly mother of yours wrapped around your pretty finger," came Lena's brilliantly scornful voice.

"Don't call him that! It's Muggle-born!" choked out Andromeda, all her pretense had evaporated.

"You don't actually like him, do you Andy? I always knew your acting was fantastic," praised Olivia relentlessly.

"Or maybe," began Cecilia in a honey-sweet voice that only worsened her sarcasm, "Mr. Theodore Tonks comes from a branch of the Tonks family that isn't Muggle. Maybe they were just pretending not to be wizards all these years. And our sweet Andromeda has discovered him for us." Cecilia clutched Cyriacus' arm and gave bubbly laugh.

Sirius' grey eyes had darkened in anger, but he said nothing.

"I'm sure Andy knows precisely what is right for her to do at this point, what path is right for her family," announced Bellatrix with a commanding air. She glared at her sister for putting their family in this unenviable position. The ridicule of the pureblood society was quite unbearable.

"I won't Bella! I love him, and I'll marry whomever I please, not some pureblood man whom my family has chosen for me!" replied Andromeda, her tones ringing with a force that somehow overpowered even her elder sister. She swept up her pale blue robes and dashed out of the room in a way that made clear that it was she who had left them, and not the other way around.

"My dear Sirius, I do believe that it is time for us to leave."

"Yes, my dear Bellatrix, I happen to agree," replied Sirius ever carefully, but his stormy eyes showed that the atmosphere between the cousins was tense.

* * *

"You planned that."

"What?"

"You wanted them to talk about it, because you already knew. You wanted all those horrible purebloods to ostracize your own sister. It was like leading a lamb to a pack of wolves."

"Honestly Sirius, I really have no idea what you're talking about. If Andromeda wished to be treated well, she would have made the right decision. But it was educational, was it not?"

"Educational?"

"There are _standards_ for those who marry into our family. A Muggleborn is simply unthinkable, that is simply unthinkable. They are almost as bad as your blood-traitor friend, Potter. And you're lucky that _dear_ Cornelia has a father in the Ministry—or the stench of the blood traitor would never come off."

"You want me to follow those standards? Merlin, I never thought you'd stoop so low."

Bellatrix' eyes were wide as her cousin defied her. How did he not understand? He who had received the same education as her did not understand, did not comprehend the purity of blood.

"I merely thought that seeing the treatment that you would receive from _our_ society, it is better for you to marry someone of your own class. May I suggest Miss Carrow? An alliance would certainly be profitable for both our families, and you do find her attractive. Rosalyn is too much of a puppet to be worth very much…"

"_Enough_. I'm leaving."

"Don't forget what I said. If you lose, you have to come with me to a meeting."

Bellatrix glanced at her left arm meaningfully.

Sirius scowled and left from his cousin's presence. He was about to leave his uncle's massive house when he heard a small sound from the corner. Walking softly, he moved toward the sound. It was coming from behind Aunt Druella's ghastly red sofa in Sirius' least favorite sitting room. This particular room was filled with pictures of deceased relatives, all of whom were well schooled in scolding Sirius for his un-Black-like behavior. Behind the sofa was a ball of pale blue fabric.

"Andy?"

His cousin raised her head, her lovely blue eyes red from crying, her beautiful brown hair plastered to the sides of her face.

"It's you. I don't think that I could bear it to have been anyone else. Now I remember why I didn't tell anyone about Ted and me."

"How long have you been dating?"

"A year. But we've been friends for a really long time."

Sirius smiled a little. He hadn't talked to Andy for a while, just the two of them.

"You really like him?"

"Yes."

Andromeda smiled up at her tall cousin, wiping her eyes with her hands. Her heavily lidded eyes were _so_ like her sisters.

"He's nice and kind, and isn't prejudiced. Just what I wanted."

"Handsome, too?"

"_I_ think so."

"Good. I want the best for my favorite cousin. For what it's worth, I'll come to the wedding for sure."

"It's worth a lot. What about you, Sirius? You always confuse me, you're a Gryffindor, but you still hang out with Bellatrix. And so secretive. And a player, I must admit. The amount of times that girls have come to _me_ asking about _you_, I've lost count. Where's the girl that's the hardest to catch?"

"She's still being caught, I hope."


	18. Cherchez La Femme

_**Chapter Eighteen: Cherchez la Femme**_

Sirius was whistling, which was highly uncharacteristic, and as he turned the corner he did not quite catch the body moving towards him. As a result, he knocked the girl over.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Let me help you with those things," he apologized quickly, not quite looking at her face.

"Sirius?" said the girl, rather incredulously.

"Lily? I should have noticed that shock of red hair, oughtn't I?"

Lily laughed, it was unusual to see Sirius acting so absentminded.

"I haven't seen you since Christmas, Sirius. What _have_ you been doing?"

Sirius twinkled, his eyes practically brimming with delight.

* * *

She walked slowly down the cavernous stone steps, the lights flickering with the footsteps. Before her, the vacuum seemed unending, but she knew better. She had been here before.

As the thick door creaked open, the lights were only slightly less dim. She kneeled, subserviently, and meant it, for the first time in her life. Her rigid lips brushed the hem of the robes, as lovingly as if she were kissing a man, and not the cold blend of silk and satin. Her eyes were lowered, her gaze settled on those same robes. With the same grace, she rose to her feet and stood in the crowd that encircled her master. One by one, the followers moved their masks the slightest bit, and kissed the hem in much the same manner.

Throughout the ceremony, she was impassive. Her emotions stirred only once, when she saw the glimmer of brilliant white-blond hair peaking out from behind the mask. But she knew that even that was too much, too weak, too _human_, and could not tolerated. It was why she hated her cousin so, because with him she could not help but love him.

* * *

"_I'm _going to be queen, Andy," announced Bellatrix, her voice as self-possessed as any nine-year-old could manage.

"But Bella, you _always_ get to play the queen."

Andy was wearing one of her famous pouts, and although sometimes she thought that eight was just a little too old for this, she didn't really want to lose her best negotiating mechanism. Bella also knew her younger sister too well, and didn't really pay attention.

"I don't think you should get to play until you tell me what your king will be like," questioned Andromeda, her eyes alight with curiosity for new information, for the spirit of Eve burns strong in all her daughters, even the smallest ones.

Bella looked scornful. Did she really need a king?

"He should be handsome, of course."

"Oh don't be so predictable, Bella."

"He should be clever."

"Is he kind, Bella?"

"He is powerful."

* * *

The meeting had dragged on until her thoughts were clearly elsewhere. Leglimency would not permit that transgression to occur a second time. He looked upon her, half in pity, half in amusement. He laughed that terrible high laugh that was so frightening to Bellatrix the first time that she had heard it. He was yet handsome, but none of what she found so attractive in Sirius was present in his face.

"What have you been doing, my dear Bellatrix?"

"My lord, I have been recruiting."

"Your cousin will not come."

Bellatrix stared at him, realizing that it was not a question, but a statement. But her cousin wasn't the rest of her family; he wasn't Regulus, seeker on the Slytherin Quidditch team. He was a Gryffindor. And as she had so often noticed before, his political ties did not mirror his romantic choices. Why, in the room she had just exited, she had seen Lena Carrow, younger sister to Amycus and Alecto, and one of Sirius' previous paramours, not to mention the lovely Rosalyn Travers and Olivia Avery. Each one had made the same oath that she had taken.

"Your obsession is disturbing your ordinary efficiency, Bellatrix."

His piteous gaze was back, and it was all Bellatrix could do to not look away.

"I trust that it will not happen again. But Lord Voldemort is merciful."

She returned early to her Head Girl's chambers, only to be surprised by another variety of the forbidden black robes. The Dark Lord would not have so little faith as to send an envoy after her? To watch her? She braced herself for confrontation, her wand at her side. The black robed figure removed his hood, where a shock of perfectly groomed black hair appeared. The figure turned, and his grey eyes stared at hers, a mixture of elation and merriment that was almost distasteful in her present condition. The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, his lips almost too red to still be masculine, and his carefree demeanor not the least bit forced.

"What _is_ it?" asked Bellatrix quite acidly.

"I accept your defeat most graciously, Bellatrix, for not all of us can be as glorious at what we do as I – but barring a splendid soliloquy on my part –"

Bellatrix' heart sunk for a moment, but knowing what her (or _his_) reward was to be, she smiled knowingly.

"I assume you've come to make arrangements, my dear cousin."

He laughed.

Bellatrix stared at Sirius with unmitigated disbelief. Where was the defenseless boy that she had created; even encouraged?

"Not now, sweet Bellatrix. Not until you renounce the Dark Lord. Not until you are no longer a Death Eater."

Merciless, he turned his heel and walked away.

* * *

She arrived at the Red Telephone Booth outside the Ministry, dressed in her most professional looking robes. She dialed 62442, and the welcome witch asked her about her business. Cornelia cleared her throat, and spoke,

"I am here to meet with the Head of Magical Law Enforcement."

"And your name?"

"Cornelia Crouch."

The booth dropped down into the ground before she appeared inside the Atrium. Cornelia had always hated this room, especially the Fountain of Magical Brethren—with its ridiculous image of the witch staring up at the wizard and the goblin—as though a goblin had ever looked like that! Her wand was examined, and she went to the second floor, where further hearings were held concerning the treatment of prisoners and the War against You-Know-Who. She tried to stand up a bit straighter, reminding herself that she was here in her capacity as a citizen rather than as Barty Crouch's daughter.

As she entered the large conference room, she noted happily that her father seemed preoccupied with other matters and did not notice her. A short witch was presiding over the meeting, and called it to order, banging her gavel loudly.

"The first order of business is the identification regulation that has been entered by Bartemius Crouch, Sr. This regulation will require all half-breeds—house-elves, goblins, giants, centaurs, werewolves and the like to submit to identification procedures at the Ministry and prove that they are not working for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Their loyalties have not been proven, and given their inherent dark qualities, they cannot be allowed to ally themselves with the Dark Lord. Anyone who wishes to comment on this regulation may do so after entering the queue."

Cornelia saw the line forming to one side of the room and quickly moved to that side. The other, much older, witches and wizards were announcing their prepared remarks—mostly they were business groups who were concerned how the regulation would affect their bottom line.

"We of the alliance for Magical Housekeeping depend on house-elves for our cleaning needs and this will affect our placement…"

"We at Gringotts Bank will be greatly inconvenienced by this measure…"

No one seemed interested in stopping the regulation for what it meant—that these beings could not be trusted—even though earlier treaties had made their status in the wizarding world quite secure. The line ahead of her began to get shorter and shorter, although each of the representatives droned on and on. Soon it was her turn.

"Please state you name for the record."

"I am Cornelia Crouch."

The name Crouch attracted the attention of everyone there—especially the reporters—and her father could not look more incensed at his daughter appearing before the panel.

_"Did her father set her up to be here?"_

_ "Did he _know_ that she was going to come?_"

The short witch hit the gavel again, silencing the crowd.

"In what capacity do you appear before the Ministry?"

"As a private citizen."

"Please state your comments regarding Regulation 12556."

"I do not believe that this regulation should be supported by the magical community. It sows seeds of discontent where there should be none—putting suspicion where none has been shown. Why should these creatures and beings be treated with greater caution than any witch or wizard? How is this different from Lord…Voldemort's treatment of the Muggleborns? They have done nothing to deserve our opprobrium!"

Cornelia noted with some amusement that some of the witches and wizards had fainted upon hearing You-Know-Who's name. The air before her was swimming with flash-bulbs—and she felt a little bit remorseful as she knew what the headline would be.

* * *

CROUCH'S DAUGHTER UNWILLING TO SUPPORT "DRACONIAN" REGULATION—TESTIFIES AGAINST FATHER IN MINISTRY HEARING

_Dempster Wiggleswade_

While most hearings on regulations are uneventful—even dull—Tuesday's hearing after the winter holidays was anything but. Head of Magical Law Enforcement Bartemius Crouch has been enacting several regulations to address the treatment of certain figures in the War against You-Know-Who. The latest of these involves the questioning of beings and creatures suspected of allying with the Death Eaters and supporting You-Know-Who. This regulation had overwhelming support as many of the beings on this list, particularly giants and werewolves are known for their Dark proclivities (_see A4 for news of Fenrir Greyback's reign of terror_) and this is one of the few ways that the Ministry can prevent their infiltration. However, the young Miss Crouch, still in only her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry, seems to have given voice to the concerns of many who feel that the Ministry is overstepping its bounds in its zealousness against You-Know-Who.

* * *

On Wednesday morning, as Sirius was eating in the Great Hall—there never seemed to be enough time for him to eat everything he wanted—one large owl and one small post owl came zooming towards him. The large owl brought a large ornate envelope from his mother, that enclosed a copy of Abraxas Malfoy's note to his uncle and a note to be on his best behavior, lest Lucius and his father choose to visit the school. Sirius only glanced it before crumpling up the note and shooing the large owl away.

_To Master Black:_

_We seek the hand of your daughter, Narcissa, for our son, Lucius. For years our families' fates have been tied in the search for what is good and right for those with pure blood. It is only natural, and felicitous, that this search be continued with this union solidified._

_Of your daughters, we find Narcissa to be most suitable. My kindest regards for Bellatrix's engagement._

_June will be a prophetic time for the wedding_.

_Abraxas Malfoy_.

The post owl delivered the Daily Prophet—upon which Cornelia Crouch's visage loomed large on the front page—her ordinarily calm brown eyes alight with passion. He quickly gave the owl five knuts for the delivery—but he noticed that there was a virtual parliament of owls entering the Great Hall and heading straight for the Ravenclaw table, where a wispy witch with brown hair was eating, hitherto peacefully.

The first mail to drop before her was an angry red envelope which she regarded with dread. It was moments before it opened of its own accord—the voice of Barty Crouch, Sr. echoing through the halls—

_DO YOU KNOW WHAT MY SUPERIORS THOUGHT OF YOUR LITTLE STUNT—CORNELIA? HOW DOES IT LOOK THAT MY OWN DAUGHTER DOESN'T AGREE WITH MY DECISIONS AT MY JOB? IF YOU HAD CONCERNS—YOU COULD HAVE ASKED ME! INSTEAD, YOU DECIDED TO SHOW UP TO THE HEARING UNBIDDEN_….

To Sirius's surprise, Cornelia looked merely bored as the Howler continued to scold her. The other letters appeared to be fan mail that Cornelia regarded just as indifferently—leaving them on the table as she exited the Great Hall.

* * *

She was very beautiful, he thought, but her family was not known for their kindness. Still, she was a Ravenclaw and not a Slytherin, so perhaps there was some solace to take from that. In an unusual decision for such a studious girl, she had taken a summer to study abroad in Beauxbatons. Ever since her return, she had been a little more withdrawn – a little sadder – perhaps a little wiser.

"Are you staring at her again?" asked Fabian Prewett, poking Ted in the ribs.

"No."

"Why don't you ask her to come to Hogsmeade with you."

"Not this week. I have too much work."

Fabian laughed, but left his friend alone.

In Charms the next day, he could not help but be drawn to her unusual eyes. What was it about the Black family? Wretched as they were – but each more handsome than the last. Her eyes glittered like tiny sapphires, reflecting the sunlight as it…

"What is it, Theodore Tonks?"

The eyes were suddenly closer – mischievous and the perfect mouth that he sometimes noticed was speaking. They were looking expectantly in his direction.

"I was only listening to the lesson."

Andromeda Black smirked, as if she already knew that he was lying. She was almost as quick as her sister at knowing the ways and wiles of men, although she did not use her faculties as quickly. Ted blushed red, and did not look at her for the remainder of the lesson.

"It's Andromeda, isn't it?" asked Ted, a little embarrassed to be asking after a fifth year.

"Yes, Theodore."

"Oh please, don't be so formal. I was wondering why you were in this Charms class?"

Her haughty beauty became more of a mask as she looked at him after this statement.

"Don't tell me you're just like the purebloods. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I don't know any magic."

Ted looked genuinely stricken.

"Please, Andromeda, I was only asking."

"I was top in Charms last year," was her curt reply.

"Well, I am sure you are exceptional. I was really only wondering if you would be interested in coming out to have a drink with me this weekend? You know, to talk about magic, and France, and things. I have expressed myself badly, I'm afraid," added the young man.

Andromeda was unsure of being involved in another romantic entanglement when her last one had ended so badly. But he did seem nice, if a little sloppy.

"I suppose so. We can meet outside The Three Broomsticks."

* * *

As Sirius finally managed to finish his breakfast, another official announcement from Druella had arrived. Sirius expected that this one marked the engagement ball for Narcissa and Lucius, since she wished to erase the absence of Andromeda from her gatherings, even as everyone knew that she had been seen with a Muggleborn.

_Lord and Lady Cygnus Quentin Black_

_request the honour of_

_Sirius Black's_

_presence at the wedding preparations for their daughter_

_Bellatrix Elise_

_On the seventeenth of January_

_At six o'clock post meridian_

_At the Black family estate_

_For family only. No guests._

Sirius found the invitation particularly unusual for a number of reasons. Why was it addressed specifically to him, for instance? He sensed that this was a family affair, although very little tied him to the family. If it weren't for Bellatrix, they would probably never speak to him.

* * *

For the third time this week, Bellatrix was at Twilfit and Tattings, getting fitted for her traditional wizard wedding. The witch who was working today seemed intent on making the process difficult. Although Bellatrix had pointed out to her mother once again that any third year with a wand could point and make the ensemble fit perfectly, Druella stressed that it was not the end result, but the shear _toil_ that made the wedding dress ideal. This made sense, if, as Walburga claimed, three Italian witches had died making her dress. The dress was to be white, as was the custom, with each lacy Black crest embroidered by hand. Her headdress was spun of unicorn tail and demiguise, and was so heavy that Bellatrix had difficulty maintaining her balance. The only aspect of her outfit that was not white was her shoes, which were dark red.

* * *

Wednesday evening, Sirius arrived at the Black family estate wearing grey dress robes. He saw Regulus nursing a firewhisky in the corner, and moved to join him. He was fortunate that the Estate was so close to Hogwarts.

"Looking well, little brother," remarked Sirius, his grey eyes looking at Regulus.

"You should be very happy, Sirius," said Regulus, his blue eyes solemn.

"Why is that?"

"Because you have a little brother, Sirius; when you do not do the things that are expected from you, others must oblige."

* * *

She was radiant, clad in a color that was not usually seen on her, white. Sirius was struck by her meekness, her obedience to her mother's wishes. He was sure, now, that she did not care for Rodolphus Lestrange, with whom she was to be wed.

Bellatrix saw Sirius as well, her heavily lidded eyes barely visible beneath her headdress. Keeping with ancient custom, the close family members viewed the bride and gave their blessings before the wedding. More importantly, at least to Druella, their comments on the dress would be noted for Narcissa's ceremony. Andromeda was made conspicuous by her absence. He was as handsome as ever, his grey eyes and grey robes matched perfectly. How dare he show up at her event, gloating that he had triumphed? It was unseemly. She could not still love him. He was walking closer, his gait purposeful.

"I'm sorry Bella."

His voice was soft.

"Sorry, Sirius? But no one should be sorry on this glorious day. Did you really think that _I_ feel the same way about you as you seem to about me? Soon I shall be wed to Rodolphus, and I shall be faithful to the Dark Lord alone."

Sirius was lost. He had come to understand Cornelia—but just as soon as he felt himself becoming attracted to someone else—Bellatrix had to grow further from him?

And now, Bellatrix? The lights were dim, and no one was looking this way quite yet. He leaned closer, he was now taller than she. Her eyes were not as hard as he expected. They were still not touching, as close as they were. Seconds passed before she turned away.

Would that his first kiss be his last?


	19. Wolf

_**Chapter Nineteen: Wolf**_

Sirius was having a lot of trouble keeping up with his classes with all of his trips back to the Black Family Estate. Soon pureblood wedding season would be over—and he would be able to be a normal wizard again. James and Peter were sitting in the fifth year boys' dormitory with him, waiting to put the last bit of their spell into place.

"You know, if this doesn't work, I don't have any other ideas," said James rather forlornly.

"It'll work."

James looked at Sirius rather wonderingly. He seemed both strangely sure of himself and very calm, as though he didn't care if it went wrong. Peter, on the other hand looked positively terrified. It was only because James kept looking at him sternly that he didn't scamper away.

"It's really only a more complex form of ordinary human transfiguration. The key is to keep your mind open to what you might become, sort of like the Patronus," explained Sirius confidently.

"Do you think that we'll become the same thing as our Patronus?"

"Probably. Although, the Patronus can change when the wizard is upset, and I doubt that this transformation will," continued Sirius. Peter was silent during the entire exchange, and did not seem inclined to join his friends' discussion.

"Do our clothes change with us?" James asked, tugging on his robes slightly nervously.

Sirius wrinkled his nose. He shrugged his shoulders. He asked pointedly,

"Who will go first?"

Peter quickly scurried out of the way, causing Sirius to snort. How that idiot became a Gryffindor, he would never know, but he was Sirius' friend. It was evidently down to Sirius and James to decide.

"I'll do it," said the two boys at the same time. Sirius knew that the transformation was dangerous, and the Potters were much kinder than his own parents.

"No, it had better be me," he said, staring James in the eyes. Grey met hazel, and James was surprised to find that he could not compete with Sirius' stubbornness.

"Do you remember what exactly we have to do?"

Sirius pulled out a roll of parchment, and looked at their notes, many times updated over the years since they had first found out that Remus was a werewolf.

_Keep in mind yourself at all times. Something like Patronus – a single all-consuming thought to keep you human (inside). If the spell goes wrong, you could remain trapped as an animal forever._

_You_don't_need a wand to transform. However, it is highly suggested that the first time be with a wand. (N.B.: Powerful wizards don't require the wand)_

_Do NOT restrict yourself to a single animal. What type of animal – we do not know which one_

Sirius closed his eyes, his plain black robes wrapped around his handsome form. He stretched his wand arm so that he could wrap his entire arm around himself. He swung it around once, making a wide arc as it swirled, sparks flying from the tip. James and Peter took a step back as Sirius kept his eyes closed, his left hand clutching the sheet of parchment. Only a small tremor betrayed the fear that he felt. In his mind, he held the strongest memory of himself, as a boy of twelve at his cousin's side. It was now or never, and he cast wordlessly the spell,

"_Commutatus Bestiae_."

At first, Sirius did not notice anything, but a flash of light blinded James and Peter as he transformed for the first time, his wand disappearing with his clothes. In the middle of the fifth year boys' dormitory was a massive black dog. James was not quite sure it was really a dog; it seemed nearly bear-like in its hugeness.

"Are you Sirius?" James asked rather tepidly.

The dog whined, and just as quickly as it had transformed, Sirius returned. James and Peter were wide-eyed, but James, at least, was eager to try the transformation for his own.

* * *

Sirius bounded out of Gryffindor tower, uncaring that there were _extremely few _large black dogs in the castle that would disguise him (but luck was with him-and he didn't run into anyone else), hurrying toward the Head Suite where the Head Girl and Boy resided. He was eager to share his secret with someone else, the gloriousness of his transfiguration prowess. _She_ valued only power; only unparalleled ability, and she would value this achievement. The door was open, and Sirius transformed, hoping to surprise his cousin with his new trick. But his ears were much sharper as a dog, and he could hear her conversing with her visitor.

"I am exceptionally excited for our marriage, Rodolphus."

Rodolphus muttered something unintelligible, and Bellatrix laughed, and Sirius imagined that her lidded eyes were just barely open, her mouth curved into a smile.

"Together, we can better serve our master, the Dark Lord."

Sirius listened intently, disgusted by Bellatrix' sycophantic words to her fiancé. And to think Moldy Roldy lapped it up! Why would Bella settle for this scum when she had so much better? Against his better judgment, he crawled into an enclave as the two passed him, dressed in the whispering black robes of Death Eaters. He leaped out with the enthusiasm of a dog, but tempered it with his better instincts, and tiptoed as softly as he could behind the two. When the two left Hogwarts, he slipped behind them, a pace slower.

* * *

It was the first time that they would come with Remus when he transformed. Remus did not know yet, but James and Peter were ambling about, stretching their new muscles as stag and rat. Sirius had disappeared mid-afternoon, and had not yet returned. James was worried, but he did not share this with Peter, who was as hapless as a fifteen year old boy could be. He was more inclined to discuss it with Remus, but his friend was certainly otherwise occupied. James frowned, which was not visible in his stag form.

Still, being an Animagus was glorious. His thoughts were simpler as a stag—all the dilemmas that seemed so all-consuming as a human—were mere distractions as an animal. He pranced across the grounds of Hogwarts, stretching his powerful legs.

* * *

Sirius knew that being in the same room as Voldemort would put him in danger. Voldemort, from what he understood at the Order of the Phoenix meeting, was an astonishing wizard who would sense the presence of the dog in the room. He sensed that in true pureblood manner, the most important being would arrive the latest. And this would be Voldemort. If he could leave before this happened, he would be safe. From Bellatrix and Rodolphus' conversation, it seemed that this was a recruiting meeting and nothing more sinister. Sirius had wordlessly and soundlessly disappeared into part of the bookshelf in the meantime as the pair and those around them took their seats. Although his hearing decreased, he was entirely hidden, although easily trapped. It was a dangerous decision. At the same time, he was not entirely surprised by the crowd that was gathering in the room. Lucius Malfoy strode in, his brilliant hair cascading down his shoulders. He barely nodded to Bellatrix, although this seemed a warm greeting for the former Slytherin. Amycus and Alecto Carrow were here, although he was hoping that he would not see the lovely Lena trailing behind them. How she was related to them, he would never understand. However, she was only a step slower, and looked as though she had just stopped talking animatedly to Rosalyn Travers, the beauty of Slytherin. Lena was his year and she seemed far too young to take the mark.

However, even Sirius knew that it was Cade who held the reins of power in the family now that the elder Travers was feeling poorly. He was not the least surprised to see Cade, the lines on his face making it hard, walking slowly behind them. Cade was the same age as Fabian's elder brother, Gideon, and the two had no love lost between them. Cade never hesitated from casting aspersions on their sister Molly's romantic interest, Arthur. Sirius barely registered those that followed, because even as he saw the faces of Rabastan Lestrange and Evan Rosier, he was shocked by the one that followed them. If he had not been a bookcase at the moment, he would have gasped, at the very least. His younger brother, a slight thirteen, was following the others into the room. From his robes and expression, it was clear that he was not yet a Death Eater, but his presence here was frightening.

Sirius' mind flashed back to his very strange conversation with his younger brother at the family celebration for Bellatrix.

"_You should be very happy, Sirius," said Regulus, his blue eyes solemn._

"_Why is that?"_

"_Because you have a little brother, Sirius; when you do not do the things that are expected from you, others must oblige."_

To his very small pleasure, Bellatrix seemed to give the same sort of start when she saw Regulus. His younger brother was clearly the youngest person here, although he seemed to be in a state of petrified enthusiasm. Sirius didn't know why he should be surprised—he had recently noticed the Daily Prophet clippings adorning Regulus's walls.

"It is time to come to order then," said the commanding voice of Lucius Malfoy, his hair tied behind his neck. Sirius was surprised that the Dark Lord was not actually present, but he did not stir.

"Members of the most renowned and honored pureblood families have come today to discuss joining our endeavor. We must not let the Muggles who hunt us have power any longer, and we must uphold these standards in the schools and workplaces that we inhabit," Bellatrix began, the conviction in her voice almost ringing in its intensity. Sirius was somewhat perversely pleased to note that Bellatrix had not resisted bringing up the Concillarium as a deliberate jab to those families who were not included, including the Carrows and the Rosiers.

Alecto took her pause as an opportunity to rebut Bellatrix for the doubt cast on her family. When she began speaking, Sirius was disappointed to find that her voice was not the lilting tone of her younger sister, but a much harsher voice.

"There are also those of us who are not in the fourteen, but some of those present are clearly not of age to serve the Dark Lord. What of them? They could be acting as spies for Dumbledore!" The Carrows took this opportunity to sneer at the very young Regulus, who did not dare say anything in response. Bellatrix knew that many of the inner circle found Regulus nearly as intriguing as his elder brother, another heir to the powerful magic flowing in the Black family. As she opened her mouth to speak, she was surprised to hear Lucius and Rabastan speaking on behalf of her cousin instead. Perhaps the marriage with Narcissa would do them some good.

For Sirius, seeming hours passed as the conversation droned on, each sentence rife with retaliatory murmurs and concessions. It seemed like excruciating work just to get along with one's fellow Death Eaters, let alone their power hungry lord. The conversation halted as Lucius raised his wand, intending to Apparate to the proper meeting place. Sirius shrugged his canine self and moved to follow them, but realized that while he had barely managed Apparition in his human form—he didn't think he could manage it as a dog.

Bellatrix seemed to be of the same mind as she drew back, clasping Regulus' white arm with her talons. She betrayed the smallest amount of cousinly affection as she whispered,

"This is not your battle. Go back Regulus."

Regulus stared wonderingly at his cousin, who had never before deigned to treat him any better than Kreacher. His pause was enough. Bellatrix had Apparated with the other would be Death Eaters. His brother then did something very strange, he gazed at the large black dog that had mistakenly ambled out of the shadows.

"Very funny, Sirius."

Sirius immediately changed into his human form, his hair wildly unkempt like that of a dog.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I'm your brother! I can see your arrogant stride even if you were a unicorn."

Sirius felt a rush of pride for his brother, whom he had previously cast in the same light as Peter Pettigrew. The slight seeker did not seem entirely displeased to see his Gryffindor brother burst upon him. In fact, he seemed quite relieved that he was not permitted to join at this young age, although he clearly felt that it was his familial obligation to do so. The kinship between them was fleeting, for Regulus soon turned to strictly practical matters.

"Do you think that you could Apparate with me back to Hogsmeade?"

As the two brothers walked side by side, Regulus's presence at the recruiting meeting expanded like a hole between them. Sirius Apparated to Hogsmeade, his brother clutching his arm as if for his life. But as soon as they were in a safe place, Sirius turned to his brother—his grey eyes filled with dislike.

"What were you thinking, Regulus? Do you think you belong with them—the Carrows, the Malfoys? Do you think this is a game, like Quidditch?"

Regulus stood up a little bit straighter, he was proud of his abilities as Slytherin seeker.

"_You_ didn't think it was so much of a game when I caught the Snitch before your captain," his eyes looking cheekily at his brother.

Sirius brushed off the slight on the Gryffindor team (he remembered that they had lost that game and Goldstein had blamed him for not hitting the Bludger at his brother hard enough).

"Regulus, you must understand. Father and Mother are wrong. You cannot join Lord Voldemort. Nothing good can come of this—I've seen that _Toujours Pur_ that you've written on the wall—you don't know what it means to kill the Muggles."

* * *

James was waiting impatiently when Sirius finally made it back to Gryffindor tower, after reluctantly showing his younger brother the passage he knew through Honeydukes' cellar. Sirius looked rather worse for wear, but neither James nor Peter questioned him. Remus had already been removed to the infirmary by Madame Pomfrey and the three set out their plan.

"We know that Remus is inside the Whomping Willow when he transforms," announced James, importantly.

"How do we know that again?" whimpered Peter.

"Because we've been listening at the Shrieking Shack," hissed Sirius, impatient with Peter. James looked sharply at Sirius, as if to remind him that his annoyance in other avenues was not to be expressed toward Peter.

"We will all exit toward Hagrid's hut under James' invisibility cloak at half-past eleven. James will hide the cloak behind the hut and we will transform."

James' excitement was palpable as Sirius continued his explanation.

"Peter, as a rat, will touch the stump of the Whomping Willow to render it motionless."

"Why me?" asked Peter, plaintively.

This time, James did not let the tetchy Sirius respond, "Because you will be able to fit through the branches much more easily than a stag or a dog of Sirius' size."

"While it immobilized, Sirius and I will go inside the shack to subdue Remus as he transforms, and you will come after us, Peter."

Peter seemed reasonably pleased that two large animals would be protecting him from the hitherto unencumbered werewolf.

* * *

Lily was waiting in the library for Severus. Although it was difficult to see her childhood Slytherin friend frequently, particularly given the company he kept, they kept the tradition alive.

"I heard that you held Potter's Christmas party at your house. At your _Muggle_ house?" stated Severus, quite dryly.

"Their house had an Ashwinder infestation!" cried Lily, not wanting to disappoint her friend.

"If they had one Ashwinder, I'll eat my potions textbook," remarked Severus, knowing that it was both his and Lily's favorite subject.

"Don't be such a sourpuss! If you hadn't been hanging out with Mulciber all the time, I might not have had to hang out with my own housemates," responded Lily quite scathingly.

"I'll bet Petunia wasn't pleased."

"Oh Tuney was a mess. I think she said some odd things to Cornelia. She's really gotten worse about this Hogwarts thing every year and I don't know what to do about it.

"Maybe if you spent less time with _James_ and _Sirius_ then you would have more time for your sister," continued Severus, speaking unthinkingly as he stared at Lily's flowing red hair.

"Sev! Sometimes you really say things that are quite hurtful. I really don't understand why you are so against them. They are arrogant, but there are not anything like Sirius' cousins," retorted Lily with a little toss of her head, for she knew information that was quite private.

"I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about," responded Severus quite untruthfully.

"I _know_ that you had to tutor Narcissa. And you always fawn after Bellatrix, who just may know more Dark Arts than the rest of Slytherin house."

The window from the library was open that he could see clearly the view to the Whomping Willow. If he stared carefully, he could almost see the figure of Madame Pomfrey, but Lily interrupted his thoughts.

"Well?"

Lily seemed determined to get some sort of assent out of Severus.

"Did you see that Lupin is gone again?"

"Are you going to say he's a _werewolf_ again? Good gracious, Sev, he really hasn't done anything to you, even though James and Sirius are so terrible to you. Anyway, I don't think you should go and do those things with Narcissa any longer, it's really too awful of Bellatrix."

"What do you know of Bella?" asked Severus, curiously.

Lily remembered all the times she had come from the wrong curtain…

"_Are you afraid that I would judge your first kiss?" asked Bellatrix, annoyed that her cousin did not seem more enamored of her._

_Sirius flushed._

"_That was _not _my first kiss."_

_Lily wanted to help him, he was so young – her age._

"Nothing substantial. Only that Sirius cares for her very much, I think."

Lily did not seem to have anything else to say to Severus. She seemed flustered by her recollections of Sirius and Bellatrix and left quickly.

Severus noticed that it was quite late as he moved to finish the remaining sheets of his essay. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a rustle of leaves by Hagrid's hut without any wind, but he decided that it was nothing and went back to work.

* * *

As the clock in the Gryffindor common room pointed toward half past, Sirius and Peter were busy convincing the stragglers to exit the room as they prepared their departure. Peter and James would exit the common room clad in the Invisibility cloak and Sirius would join them later near Hagrid's hut. Sirius seemed to have an uncanny knowledge of the secret passages of the castle, which James suspected was a side effect of his association with Bellatrix, but he never mentioned it. Sirius exited the common room and made small talk with the Fat Lady as James and Peter scampered off, unseen.

"What are you doing out of bed so late, young man?"

However, the Fat Lady was equally charmed by Sirius', despite the many times that his scorned paramours had come to her, and she winked at him impishly as he left the tower.

Sirius walked outside and was quickly concealed in the darkness under the invisibility cloak. In their ambling efforts, the three brushed against a tree causing many of the leaves to fall. Peter transformed first, the tiny rat scampered out from beneath the folds of the Invisibility cloak toward the Whomping Willow.

_Commutatus Bestiae_

Sirius felt the powerful muscles of the dog form from his arms, James was tucking the invisibility cloak in the agreed upon location behind the hut. His keen eyes glittered in the night. James had now transformed as well, his antlers gleaming in the moonlight. They followed Peter toward the willow.

As they stepped inside, Sirius saw Remus. He looked so thin, so lank in his shabby clothes. It was five to midnight, when the gleaming moonlight would touch his body. Sirius quite forgot that Remus would not know him and James in their new forms and bounded to his friend. The feeble Remus stepped back in terror and pulled out his wand. Sirius knew that the time would be close, but he changed back into a boy.

"Sirius?"

"Of course! Do you think that we would let you face this alone?"

The grey eyes of the taller boy met Remus', who seemed to know that the stag was James.

It was almost midnight, and Sirius changed back for his safety.

The moon shone into the Shrieking Shack and Remus began his painful transformation.

* * *

"It's quite perfect," murmured Druella, admiring the pearly folds on the body of her eldest daughter. No deaths, but one witch at Twilfit had collapsed from exhaustion, though Bellatrix remarked wryly, "What is Rodolphus going to wear?"

"Oh you know, the black cloaks with the crest of Lestrange," responded her mother dismissively, for this was a _Black_ wedding.

"You know, my NEWTs are coming soon. How will I prepare amidst all the wedding planning?"

"Do not be ridiculous, my dear. What will your NEWT levels matter as a pureblood wife?"

Bellatrix stiffened. She was certainly a better witch than Rodolphus, despite what was automatically assumed. Come spring she would be wed, only two months before her final exams. What did it matter that she was Head Girl, as skilled with the wand as could be hoped for?

* * *

Sirius, James and Peter dashed back inside, flushed from the excitement of that night.

"It was strange, seeing Remus like that," said Sirius, his grey eyes thoughtful.

"You mean _Moony_!" exclaimed James.

"You _would_ call him that—wouldn't you—_Prongs_," retorted Sirius, his fingers sticking straight up next to his ears. James looked ruefully at him,

"I'll have to think of something equally absurd to call you, oh bear-like dog you,"

"It's funny how we can understand him, even though he's a wolf," said Peter.

"Brilliant, you mean? And how we understand each other."

The three remaining roommates (and their fifth roommate, who chose not to associate with the troublemakers was already asleep) made motions to finally go to sleep for the quick two hours before they had classes in the morning. Sirius dashed downstairs to the common room, making some excuse about having left his shoes there.


	20. Another Night with A Stag

_**Chapter Twenty: Another Night with a Stag**_

Remus had returned from his wolfish adventures looking as haggard as usual. He looked gratefully at his three friends and roommates who had come to his aid. However, a second later, he looked angry,

"You could have been injured!"

James laughed and clapped his hand on Remus' back.

"I doubt that our injuries would be any greater than the ones you inflict on yourself, Moony."

Remus' eyes sparkled for a second with what Sirius' suspected were tears, but he did not cry in front of his friends. James continued lightheartedly—

"We've got to think of nicknames for these two animals here—Sirius has already anointed me _Prongs_," and Remus gave an amused smile at the thought.

"How was it? Was it any different with us wandering around?" wondered Sirius.

"I don't know…my mind seemed less wolfish, more myself when you were there. Again, thank goodness that a werewolf is no real danger to other animals. How did you guys do it?" asked Remus in his turn, looking at James and Sirius even though Peter had also completed the transformation.

James, who seemed to relish the role of explaining their achievement, launched into a description of the many days they had spent poring over transfiguration textbooks, even obtaining an elusive pass into the restricted section of the library (obviously, they had sent Sirius to woo Professor Trelawney). It had begun with the day that they had discovered that Remus was a werewolf.

* * *

Sirius had been stuck like glue to Bellatrix's side since their fateful encounter during his first year at Hogwarts. Of course he was required to attend classes with his fellow Gryffindors, but he was often found side by side with his elder cousin. Truth be told, he was little bit afraid of the differences between his home and school, and he did not quite know what to make of everything. Bellatrix had explained things like Quidditch to him when he was younger, and he rather relied on her for things. At the same time, he often noticed the rash acts of Bellatrix's fellow Slytherins, and was quick to point out their faults, while remaining blind to the shortcomings of his lovely cousin.

"You know, Bella, your cousin Evan was definitely using some dark magic during Care of Magical Creatures. Professor Kettleburn wasn't looking, but I saw him," whispered Sirius, as anxious as a boy of twelve could manage.

"Shush Sirius, it doesn't do to speak ill of family."

Sirius had assented, but that did not stop him from spreading the rumor throughout Gryffindor tower. It was only a year earlier that he has stated that he didn't have any real friends, but that had slowly changed. Sirius did not mention that he was almost sure that his cousin Evan was targeting James, a transgression that made him an enemy forever.

Even though Bellatrix wished to make Sirius her protégé, she had asked very little from him during his first two years. She watched him as he grew up with his close friends, vying to devise the most spectacular pranks. It had been a few weeks since they shared a forbidden kiss, although she fancied that only she would remember it. Sirius was cold towards her, too caught up in his own entanglements to walk alongside her.

* * *

Sirius and James were partners in Astronomy, watching as Professor Sinistra explained the different planets and mapping the different properties of gaseous atmospheres. Sirius was very sure that Jupiter could be seen from his telescope, even though James' calculations claimed that it was quite impossible.

"I highly doubt it is Jupiter. I'm sure that you are merely seeing some sort of reflection that resembles the red, gaseous surface," determined James quite stubbornly. He moved the telescope from Sirius' and in the process ended up focusing someplace else entirely. The silvery orb was quite bright in their telescope, rather clearer than the supposed Jupiter.

"Sirius?" asked James, motioning at his best friend to look through the telescope.

Sirius could see the bright moon just as clearly, but looked rather quizzical at James' mysterious behavior. He wanted to let the other Gryffindor boys see the brilliant sight, but realized that Remus was ill again.

"You know James, he's always ill around this time," Sirius responded, completely distracted from Professor Sinistra's lecture.

"It's every month, I would say."

* * *

James had only just finished telling the glorious story of their transformations to Remus when a very angry, red-haired girl burst into the dormitory. Her green eyes were quite ablaze with fury, her prefect badge perched upon her robes as a talisman. James looked so frightened that he nearly fell backwards into his canopied bed, but to his surprise, her ire was not directed at him. Her gaze was meant for only Sirius, who was still clad in his pajamas.

"You! This is your fault, Sirius," continued Lily—waving the _Daily Prophet_ too quickly for him to read the headline—but he suspected it was another article excoriating Crouch and his family.

"Now look here, Evans, he's been sitting with us all along, so I don't really know what he could have done," explained James, sticking up for his friend.

Remus nodded his agreement, polishing his prefect badge and attaching it to his robes as well.

"This does not concern you two! Cornelia was _mortified _because of you," accused Lily, glaring at Sirius, whose grey eyes did not seem to stir with any sort of emotion. When he offered no response, she stormed out rather like the hailstorm that she resembled.

Sirius recovered nonchalantly, only to find his three friends gathered around him, looking quite as menacing as Lily, but rather more curious than angry.

"Is this about the hearings at the Ministry?"

"Was that _your_ fault?"

"What did you tell her to say?"

"Well, I didn't tell her to say _anything_, you know," responded Sirius rather curtly.

Sirius stormed out of the Gryffindor boys' dormitory just as Lily had a few moments before. A small note fluttered down from his mother, which he was forced to deliver to Professor McGonagall.

He ran down from Gryffindor tower to Professor McGonagall's office, and promptly knocked.

"Come in," came her stern voice, and she looked rather surprised to see the impeccably dressed fifth year standing there. He handed her the note wordlessly.

"I see. So you are to be allowed permission to miss classes for your cousin's wedding?"

Professor McGonagall peered down her glasses at him, although he was almost as tall as she.

"You do know that your OWLs are coming up, don't you Mr. Black? And I happen to know that you have left on at least one evening to attend other preparations for this wedding."

He nodded his assent.

"Very well, I will allow this. However, I expect you to keep up with your coursework that you will miss for those two days."

Sirius left Professor McGonagall's room rather sulkily. Everyone seemed annoyed with him—and he really hadn't done anything wrong.

* * *

It was much easier for Bellatrix to leave her study as Head Girl, with only a quick word with Head of House Horace Slughorn, who rather doted upon the beautiful and talented seventh year. It was true that she had a rather nasty sense of humor, but it was nothing that would not be weeded out from service in the Ministry. Unfortunately, Horace Slughorn's love of blood and titles had once again made him so oblivious to what was before his eyes. It was clear that Bellatrix Black would be joining one of Horace Slughorn's other students in her post-graduate activities.

She stepped out from the castle, her traveling cloak wrapped tightly around her, and Apparated as soon as she stepped foot into Hogsmeade.

* * *

Walburga Black surveyed her sons. Her eldest would serve as a groomsman for Rodolphus Lestrange, a task that he would not take to kindly. Her youngest was not really suited, thirteen was such an awkward age. She herself had been fitted in another funereal set of robes, although she fancied the black lace was celebratory rather than morbid. Sirius was the first to emerge from the curtained fitting room. He was much taller than his mother already, and was as striking as his father had been. The robes were dark blue and were adorned with the crests of the Black and Lestrange families.

"Not much for multiple uses, are they?" remarked Sirius wryly.

Walburga merely pursed her lips in annoyance.

Regulus nearly stumbled out of the fitting room, as the robes had been made too long. He did not take to the robes as happily as his brother, although the dark blue matched his eyes better.

"You look like the robes tried to eat you."

"At least I won't have to simper all over Moldy Roldy at the wedding."

"I'm not going to simper."

Sirius made a pleading look at this mother, who looked quite upset at the moniker "Moldy Roldy" for her niece's fiancé.

When they returned to twelve Grimmauld Place, Sirius looked quite dour. Kreacher had never taken to him as happily as to the remainder of the family; probably from the difficulty the elf had cleaning the giant Gryffindor banners that Sirius had hung on his room. Regulus deigned to visit his older brother after they returned back, knowing that he was one of the few he could confide in.

"You know mother and father are quite in support of the Dark Lord's aims."

"I don't doubt it. Just look at what father's done with this house. I'm surprised there are no traps for unsuspecting Muggles that fall in his wake."

"Don't joke! You know very well what all of our family friends are doing this instant," warned Regulus, his thirteen year old face too serious.

"They are certainly _not_ my friends, Regulus. Please reconsider what I think you are doing," Sirius' grey eyes were quite scary in their intensity.

"Bellatrix's Uncle Alden said it was for our own safety from the Muggles," repeated Regulus.

"But you believe them! Just because your little friends in Slytherin think that it's a fantastic idea, doesn't mean that you will be safe."

Regulus appeared as though he had had quite enough of his brother's preaching.

"I don't think you realize what joining Voldemort means."

"And I suppose that you do?"

Sirius quite blushed scarlet because he had very nearly told Regulus about the Order of the Phoenix. Why wouldn't his brother understand? Surely they were not so different.

"No, I do not. But I can imagine."

Regulus looked quite skeptical at this information, and he left. To be honest, Sirius did not know what had changed his own mind. It was true that Sirius had never been doted upon to the same extent as his younger brother, but it was only small things that had changed in his life. Truth be told, had he not been sorted into Gryffindor, who knows whether he would be signing up to be a Death Eater, just like Evan Rosier.

* * *

The groomsmen were to meet with the groom from the day before, and help plan the bachelor party. Sirius grimaced inwardly at the thought, he could only imagine with Rodolphus' brother Rabastan had planned for the evening. The party of groomsmen could have been an impromptu Death Eaters' meeting, from what Sirius could tell. When he entered the room, Rabastan was amidst telling another story that mocked his in-laws.

"If I had to hear another story in which mighty Frank vanquishes the dark wizards, I think I might have to hex him," explained Rabastan to his brother, a firewhiskey teetering on his arm.

Cade Travers greeted him with a very unpleasant smile; he had not forgotten their last meeting. The more Sirius looked about the room, the more he felt that he had offended all of the men there. Lucius Malfoy was still upset about the hand Sirius had played in ruining his weekend with Narcissa, not to mention how he had always played second fiddle when it came to Bellatrix' affections. This was the first time that he was introduced to Arcturus Avery, Olivia's brother, whom he suspected was also a Death Eater. Finally, rounding out the group was Cyriacus Montague, recently wed to the pretty French witch. He was not surprised that Lena's revolting brother Amycus was not included. He had a sense of humor just as nasty as Bellatrix's could be sometimes, and he was not nearly as charming in other cases. In fact, he strongly suspected that his own presence was just to acknowledge the power of the Black family, since he had not cultivated the necessary ties to merit inclusion otherwise.

"So nice of you to join us, Sirius," murmured Evan Rosier, the other representative of the bride amongst the groomsmen. His cousinly courtesy extended to allowing Sirius a seat, but how far those days when they had played together just five years ago seemed. The other wizards were all overage, and seemed wrongfooted by Sirius' presence.

"What is our plan for tonight, gentlemen?" asked Sirius, putting on a charming smile, as though all of their plans would consist of having a rollicking good time in a bar somewhere—maybe some Muggle strippers.

"You know Sirius, it's a pity you didn't _join_ us earlier," whispered Lucius rather dangerously,

"You could have seen our new costumes."

Sirius clenched his hand at the thought, for he _had_ seen their Death Eater masks and robes.

"We're going to wear them for our festivities tonight," continued Cade quite smoothly where Lucius had left off.

"It wouldn't do for someone to recognize us," explained Arcturus, patiently, as if to an addled child. Sirius seemed quite petrified to ask what was next. He realized that he was quite alone in these circumstances.

"Come," added Rabastan, softly, and grabbed Sirius' wrist quite tightly as they Apparated.

Sirius recognized it as a Muggle village, and someone – Rodolphus – had handed him a mask. He put it on, unthinkingly, his face white as a sheet underneath.

"Why so pale, young Sirius, we're going to have some fun," cried Cade, his eyes just visible underneath his mask. He followed them; they were walking towards the Muggles. It began just as quickly as he had arrived here; first Rodolphus flicked his wand toward one of them, pushing them through magical force. At the same time, boils erupted on his skin as Rabastan egged his brother on. Of course the groom would have the honors, but the fun was that everyone else could participate. Evan seemed determined to prove himself, as he was younger than the others. He twirled his wand so that a Muggle was lifted into the air, his head bouncing on the ground like a rubber ball. Sirius shrunk away in horror. Was this what they were taught in the Slytherin dungeons? Lucius had been a school _prefect_ – what mockery was this? He couldn't keep watching, and he left, muttering about how he didn't like the smell, really something, anything to escape what they were doing. Soon he had started running, and he kept running—hoping that he would find something he recognized.

He still had no idea where he was—and he wasn't sure that he could manage to Apparate anywhere without disastrous consequences. Once he arrived in a nearby wood, he transformed into a dog, which seemed rather safer. As he continued running—he saw the signs for different Muggle villages in the north—none of which seemed familiar, but he took his chances by going to the train station—although he didn't have a cent of Muggle money.

At the station, a pretty young girl was manning the booth, for which Sirius was deeply grateful.

"Where to, sir?"

"Oh I'm terribly sorry—I've just come on a trip from abroad," and Sirius motioned—holding out his sickles as evidence of foreign money, "and I really must get to London tonight if it is at all possible."

His story appeared to pass muster with the girl, who didn't seem to brightest of Muggles, and she printed him a ticket and allowed him to board the train. Once in London, he made his way to Twelve Grimmauld Place—even the horrific home would be better than spending an evening with a group of bored Death Eaters.

To his surprise, it was Bellatrix who answered the door. From his face, she replied,

"Oh you know how it is with pureblood rituals. The men are to enjoy themselves in their last night of freedom; the women are to stay with their family members, preparing themselves for a life of service to their husbands."

He didn't know what made him do it, but he embraced his cousin very tightly after she stopped speaking. He could stop this from happening, he really believed it.

"Sirius, you must control yourself."

"Bella, you don't have to be married to Rodolphus, you don't have to do this sham. I understand how the pressures of the pureblood family are – can't I guess why my younger brother believes he must follow the Dark Lord? We'll flee – just the two of us – tonight."

"You are mad. Why do you think that I am caving to pressure? I am doing nothing of the sort," responded Bellatrix, drawing herself up to her full height where she was nearly as tall as Sirius. Her heavily lidded eyes looked scathingly at her cousin.

"Do you know what they were doing tonight?"

Bellatrix looked at him quite coldly, as though she had never really noticed this side of him before. Before Sirius could say anything further, she turned on her heel, and left.


	21. A Wedding and A Funeral

_**Chapter Twenty-One: A Wedding and a Funeral**_

James' family had refused to attend the wedding after his father had learned that both bride and groom were Death Eaters. The Longbottoms were also boycotting, however, Emily could not help but accompany her husband, the best man. In fact, Sirius thought dismally, everyone who was worth associating with was not present. He would have an unusual vantage point, as he was standing at the front behind the other groomsmen. He was not present when they had returned from their Muggle hunting adventure, and the morning of the wedding left very little time for barbs and taunts. Across the stage stood the bridesmaids, clutching their bouquets of white flowers that contrasted with their blood red gowns in anticipation.

The golden chairs were arranged around the amphitheatre of the Black family estate, filling the massive room. They were quite full, although Sirius felt that it was rather a smaller crowd than his aunt had expected. It also seemed that the house elves had been busy, for the estate was little used but for family occasions and no one lived there. A second later, the room fell silent. Rodolphus and Rabastan had just entered from the side entrance and were making their way onto the stage. The officiate rather trembled when Rodolphus came to stand beside him, for he too knew the allegiances of the Lestrange family. The musicians were playing a pleasant if unmemorable tune.

The giant wooden doors at the back of the hall were thrown open, illuminating Bellatrix and her entourage. Sirius' uncle Cygnus was beside her and Narcissa stood behind her. Yew entered just before the bride, scattering white flowers across the purple carpet. They lay on the carpet for only a moment before turning into white birds that flew above the crowd and around the amphitheatre. Soon they settled, and burst into the wedding song, the musicians accompanying. Bellatrix began walking; her dress robes were such a brilliant white that Sirius found it quite dazzling. In the front of the room, Druella appeared quite white-knuckled from worry, but her sister-in-law merely pursed her lips.

Her walk down the aisle seemed to take an age, during which Sirius quite drank in her appearance. It was difficult to see her face through the veil, but Sirius knew it so well that he could imagine the details that were hidden. Her lips were a glossy red that matched her shoes. The lace sleeves of the dress became many layers on Bellatrix's bodice, falling into a full skirt below the waist. Her train seemed to extend for miles, although magic prevented it from catching on anything. When Bellatrix reached the stage, she looked at Sirius for a moment, with something that looked fleetingly like regret. However, by the time Narcissa had made it onto the stage behind her sister, Sirius felt that he had imagined the glance.

The officiate opened with an extended discourse on the purity of blood that had been penned, no doubt, by Cygnus Black himself. Sirius could not help but continue staring at Bellatrix, she was so glorious, so beautiful.

"Do you, Bellatrix Elise, take Rodolphus Alessander as your husband?"

To put the rings on, the officiate was going to move the sleeves of their robes. Bellatrix' expression was furious, and she sank her nails into his arm to demonstrate that this was _not_ permitted.

Sirius was disgusted. It was clear enough to everyone which profession Bellatrix would join upon her graduation from Hogwarts, was there any reason to be so ashamed of the mark she had taken of her own accord. Why did she need to hide behind her veil of propriety? The officiate recovered rather faster, and let Bellatrix and Rodolphus put the rings on themselves.

"With the power accorded to me, I declare you bonded for life."

The wizard raised his wand over their heads, and a shower of silver stars fell upon them. Sirius glared at the stars, and to his chagrin, a few of them turned into silver serpents. Bellatrix nearly shrieked when she saw them fall on her and a few of the old witches in the first few rows were appropriately shocked.

* * *

Sirius looked so surly during the entire dinner following the ceremony that even the Death Eaters did not seem interested in troubling him. Although it seemed that they had enough to deal with, as Cade Travers appeared to be walking with something of a limp and Arcuturus Avery was nowhere to be seen. He made no effort to congratulate the married couple and glowered silently from his assigned table, which was unfortunately with the other groomsmen. His mother descended shortly upon him like an overgrown bat.

He braced himself for more criticism about his behavior during the ceremony, but his mother actually appeared to be pleased with him.

* * *

Dumbledore had called another meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. They had discovered additional information about the whereabouts of Voldemort, and Dumbledore hoped that they would be able to stop the murders he was planning to commit. The Ministry was growing more and more draconian in their efforts to stop the Death Eaters, which permitted little flexibility in their actions. Unfortunately, while the Ministry's intent was good, their methods were decidedly unsatisfactory.

James knew that there was to be another meeting of the Order while he was still at Hogwarts. How long ago it seemed that he and Sirius had hidden in the cupboard to hear what they were doing, and how serious everything had become since then. His mother seemed intent on keeping the information discussed from him, worrying that he was too young to be troubled. But what about the Prewetts and their sister, who had her two little sons…? He was even more disturbed that the guests with whom Sirius' would be rubbing shoulders (he did hope only literally, rather than figuratively) were the very ones that his father and Dumbledore were determined to stop. At least he knew where his best friend's loyalties lay, or so he believed.

* * *

Samuel Goldstein was pacing around the Gryffindor common room. The match against Ravenclaw was coming and he had two untried boys on his team. It was true that they had played well during the tryouts, and they were nothing if not enthusiastic.

Upstairs, in the second year boys' dormitory, whoops of laughter could be heard.

"I thought that other boy would get it in a trice," admitted Sirius, handling his new beater's bat.

"Nah, you really hit Pacey pretty hard with it, I think her nose was bleeding," answered James, referring to the bludger he had directed at one of the other chasers on the team.

"I can't believe we both made it! Your last goal was brilliant."

However, both Sirius and James were unprepared for the sudden wave of insults that were hurled their way when the match drew closer.

"Hey Black, too bad you weren't sorted into Slytherin – you would've never made the team in _this_ house!"

"Potter, I heard that you got a new broom, does it throw the Quaffle for you?"

On the flip side, Professor McGonagall was more pleased with them than initially seemed possible, and refrained from assigning homework to the second years in the days leading up to the match.

They put on their new scarlet robes before they made their way onto the field. Sirius, who was a shade taller than James, fit into the robes a bit better, but their newness was the most exciting part.

Ted Tonks was announcing the game, and it was likely that he would be biased toward Ravenclaw. However, Sirius was pleased to see Andromeda cheering for him from the stands, much to the dismay of her housemates. Bellatrix and Narcissa were nowhere to be found.

* * *

Cornelia Crouch was walking to Charms, which the Second Year Ravenclaws had with the Slytherins. Not that most of them bothered her very much, as her own brother had been sorted into that house. It was strange how pureblood families were, really. She had noticed this when she had accompanied her father to the Concillarium meetings and watched all the other family heads whisper that she was a girl. Sometimes it surprised her that her father had even agreed to bring her, as Barty was always the one that he doted upon. He was only two years younger than her, but they always seemed very different from one another.

Lena Carrow was her Charms partner, and was a very talented witch. She was also much prettier than her elder siblings, which probably had contributed to the rumors that Sirius Black was pursuing her. Little did Cornelia know, she was going to be able to verify those rumors very shortly.

"Good gracious Cornelia, could you try to keep those Ravenclaws off Sirius' back?" said the raven-haired girl rather imperiously.

Cornelia seemed quite taken aback. It was true that Cornelia had frequently noticed the handsome Gryffindor with his three talented friends, but she had certainly never gone out of her way to torment him. In fact, she had always preferred to stay out of their way—indeed, as she stayed out of everyone's way. Lena seemed positively incensed with her however, and she could scarcely concentrate on Professor Flitwick.

"I _know_ that you have been telling that Mangy Mick to follow him in the halls. It is absolutely despicable. I know Ravenclaws are clever and _not_ honorable, but considering how much flak we Slytherins get, it's not on for you lot to behave the same way."

Cornelia could still not figure out who Leandrene was referring to nearly an hour later, when she had finally managed to use the Engorgement charm properly on the frog that had been interrupting Leandrene's rants during class.

* * *

Sirius and James got onto their brooms alongside the rest of the team. Samuel Goldstein walked up to Ravenclaw captain Benjy Fenwick, and they shook hands amicably. Madame Hooch blew the whistle, and the two teams took the air. James was in play almost immediately, grabbing and tossing the Quaffle effortlessly, almost lazily. Sirius would hit the bludger furiously one moment, but was less attentive the next.

"Twenty-nil to Gryffindor! Come on Ravenclaw, I wasn't sorted into your house for nothing," cheered Ted Tonks from the sidelines as Andy looked at him patronizingly.

"That's Potter with the Quaffle again, to Pacey and back to Potter. What a team they make! It looks like Fenwick has seen the Snitch, however, which will throw the game to Ravenclaw," continued Tonks, sounding increasingly jubilant as his team appeared poised to snatch victory.

Sirius was struck with a sudden burst of energy, and hit the bludger very hard at the diving Fenwick. In a lucky shot, it hit his right arm as it was ready to grab the Snitch, causing Fenwick to shriek in pain. As a result, the Snitch conveniently disappeared into the pitch.

"Good one," yelled James to Sirius, his voice barely audible over the cheering Gryffindor fans below. Sirius took the opportunity to make a lap around the pitch—blowing kisses to his adoring fans as his teammates rolled their eyes.

Lena Carrow had finally bothered to show up for the match, although she may have been the lone Slytherin outside the scouting Quidditch team. She went to sidle up next to his younger brother, who seemed quite pleased with the attention. However, Regulus became a little annoyed with Lena when she placed a red and gold rosette on her robes—and became even more so when he saw extremely gossipy Bertha Jorkins looking over Lena's shoulder to see who was with her.

Shacklebolt, who was very handsome and a fourth year, had managed to get the Quaffle in the shuffle after Fenwick was hit with the Bludger. Shacklebolt passed the Quaffle to his teammate, Podmore, who promptly dropped it, much to Ted Tonks' chagrin—

Eleanor Pacey caught it again and passed it to Fabian Prewett, whose talented brother had just graduated, who passed it to James, who scored again.

"Fifty-ten to Gryffindor!" announced Ted rather dejectedly, as Lena Carrow continued to cheer for Sirius, who had managed to hit Shacklebolt with the bludger, preventing him from taking the Quaffle after James's goal.

"Seventy to ten for Gryffindor. There is still hope for us Ravenclaws, don't let Black take that Snitch away from you again, Fenwick," pleaded Ted Tonks along with the other members of his house.

However, this time it was the Gryffindor captain Goldstein who had seen the Snitch, and had dived for it with great alacrity, lest the opposing beaters take a note from Sirius' book. He was successful, and as he pulled out of the dive, a glorious roar filled the stadium from the scarlet and gold supporters.

* * *

The Order of the Phoenix was meeting to discuss the recent Muggle baiting incident and possible deaths. It was true that the Ministry had once again dismissed this concern as "low priority, as it [did] not pertain to wizards," or so Barty Crouch was rumored to have said. The reports were from Rothesay, a popular tourist location not far from the Black Family Estate, where Bellatrix Black had wed Rodolphus Lestrange. Caradoc Dearborn read the account in his measured voice, explaining what the newspaper had written.

"The men were found outside a bar, covered in what appeared to be varying pustules and boils. It is likely that the nearby forest is home to a variety of poisonous plants, and the men did not recall the events of the previous evening. One man, who declined to include his name, claimed that he would never have stepped in poisonous plants. It is true that it was not merely the boils on their faces that drew the attention of passersby the next morning, but the bruises on their other limbs and the tattered nature of their clothing. However, as none of the men were significantly injured, and did not remember any attackers, no charges were pressed."

"It does not seem that anything too bad occurred," began Elphias Doge, before Dumbledore interjected,

"But this was not the last celebration for the night. It is true that we must be equally protective of our Muggle brethren as we are of Wizards, but there is more to this story than the Ministry knows."

The finality with which the headmaster uttered these words immediately silenced the room. Although some of them had stifled laughter when Caradoc told his story, despite the horrors of wizards playing games with helpless Muggles, there was silence now.

* * *

Rodolphus and his groomsmen had finished with the Muggles, covered as they were with boils and mud, there was really no more amusement to be had from them. The group trekked on, not quite ready to settle in for the night.

"That Black fellow has been ruined by Gryffindor," declared Arcturus, eager to support the theory that his pure blood had been tainted with his mistaken associations—noticing that Sirius had disappeared some time ago.

There was a murmur of assent all around, partly as few were interested in incurring the wrath of Bellatrix if she ever found that they had maligned her favorite cousin. Most of them were still wearing their masks, but some had them askew as they were difficult to breathe in properly.

"Eager to leave the scene of the crime?" came a voice from behind them.

His face was obscured in the darkness, but many of the would-be Death Eaters quickly realized that theirs were not. They were the youngest of Voldemort's supporters, and they were not interested in being shunned from the magical community quite yet.

"There has been no crime," responded Lucius, his silky voice dangerously low.

"Do you think the Ministry looks favorably on Muggle torture, Lucius?"

The blond-haired wizard did not look any less comfortable at hearing his name uttered. His wand tip became alight, and their interrogator's face was thrown into relief.

"Why, if it isn't _Benjy Fenwick_. Quidditch not treating you so well, Benjamin?"

"You know very well I haven't been playing since I graduated."

The groomsmen had since circled around Benjy, and all had pulled out their wands.

"What were you planning to do with us, Benjy?" asked Rodolphus from behind their captive.

Fenwick looked as though he had not anticipated that they would be interested in engaging him. He quickly cast a shield charm around him and was able to full-body bind Evan Rosier.

"Is that all, Fenwick? I remember you got eleven OWLs," pointed out Rabastan.

Fenwick cast spell after spell, but he was woefully outnumbered. He missed the _Sectumsempra_ aimed at him by Arcturus, and fortunately the unforgivable that Rodolphus chose was _Crucio_, rather than _Avada Kevadra_. He had managed to disarm Cade Travers, who was never as sure with the wand as he was with the women.

"_Reducto_," whispered Fenwick, and Cyriacus Montague screamed in pain as his ankle collapsed into nothingness from the force of the spell.

Few of the spells could penetrate his well-cast shield charm, but he was afraid that Rodolphus and Lucius were proving to be more adept at wearing him down.

"_Defodio_," shrieked Rodolphus after his brother faltered from another jab from Fenwick, and Benjy was quite sure that his knee had lost part of its form from the gouging spell.

Arcturus Avery was almost certainly dead, which had not been Fenwick's intention when he had hexed the branch above his head to break and concuss the Death Eater. His remorse cost him precious seconds as Rodolphus and Lucius hit him with tandem spells,

"_Reducto_," responded Rodolphus, obliterating the waning shield charm and hitting Benjy's wand arm, preventing the casting of a second spell.

"_Confringo_!"

The blasting curse was strong and true, unhindered by the shield charm. Benjy's eyes grew wide before it hit. It killed him instantly of course, and the remaining groomsmen could only be bothered to gather up Arcturus' body and make excuses to the Avery family as to why the heir had perished the night before.

* * *

"I wanted you to be the first to know that this was all that was found of Benjy Fenwick this morning," added Albus Dumbledore, his piercing blue eyes gazing across the table.

He only had a bloodstained canvas bag with him.


	22. The Truth

_**Chapter Twenty-two: The Truth**_

As Cornelia waited for her mother to pick her up and take her directly to the Black Family Estate by Floo Powder, she was practicing Vanishing some Nifflers she had managed to sneak out from Care of Magical Creatures and thought that this might count as studying for two subjects at once. Although at the rate she was going, she wasn't going to do very well in her OWLs _at all_.

When Cornelia entered the hall, she was quite taken with the grandeur of the amphitheatre. Who could have imagined that this was someone's _house_! Or even better—Sirius's house. She watched him during the ceremony, sometimes hoping that he would move his head to look at the audience. However, his gaze never wavered; it was always directly on the bride. Next to her, another girl was sobbing. The girl was holding someone's photograph, his smiling face bobbing in and out of the frame. The boy in the picture was the same sandy blond as the girl, their features so similar.

"Do be quiet, Olivia, we have enough problems without you bawling through the ceremony."

The girl named Olivia looked at Cornelia, who tried to make a sympathetic face, in turn.

"Who was he, the boy in the photograph?" whispered Cornelia, trying to forget about the errant groomsman.

"My brother."

Her parents seemed more upset by the troubles caused by her brother's death than by the death itself. Her father seemed to be mouthing the word _heir_ multiple times.

"How did he die?" asked Cornelia—thinking that she recognized Olivia's brother from school, although he seemed old enough to have graduated in the photograph. The girl shook her head, although to Cornelia it was not clear if she simply didn't know, or if she wouldn't be permitted to disclose that information here.

When her mother wasn't watching, Cornelia slipped out. Something was wrong with this death. Something was wrong about how quiet the parents were about the death. As she contemplated the possibilities, Cornelia walked through the spacious halls at the Black Family Estate. It was really quite spectacular, even with the many disembodied house-elves adorning its walls. In the winter, as it was now, the estates were covered with a thick blanket of snow. Aside from hiding the estate, as the Blacks preferred, it was beautiful.

* * *

News of Benjy Fenwick's death was heavily publicized in the Prophet that arrived at Hogwarts the same day that Sirius returned from his trip to the Black Family Estate. He realized that he would finally have to confront his friends with the truth of his family, and what had transpired. James was the first to notice his return, and the two were together in the Gryffindor boys' dormitory alone after the others had left for breakfast.

His best friends' eyes were hollow and sunken. James had never seen those grey eyes appear as dejected as they were now. Even his confident walk was lacking the spirit behind it.

"Were you there?"

"Thankfully, no. But I could have been."

Even as Sirius was telling James, the memories were not quite real. He had never expected that those groomsmen would kill someone in front of them, and if he had to guess, they never expected it either. Maybe it would change the way the path that they had chosen.

"James, I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even bear to watch what they were doing to that Muggle. I don't believe that my family wanted this to happen."

Underneath Benjy Fenwick's obituary was a notice requesting information as to the whereabouts of certain wizards that were suspected to be involved.

_FENWICK'S DEATH SUGGESTS DEATH EATER INVOLVEMENT_

Barnabas Cuffe, Senior Editor

In an attack that was thought to only involve Muggles (Obliviators were dispatched early yesterday morning), information has been found that the attack also killed Benjy Fenwick, a Muggleborn wizard who lived near the town of Rothesay. Fenwick was employed by the Department of Magical Catastrophes, and had graduated from Hogwarts three years ago.

A confidential informant has suggested that the wizards responsible were those in the wedding party of Rodolphus Lestrange, who was married this weekend to Bellatrix Lestrange (neé Black). Although there is no evidence to implicate any particular wizard, nor is it clear which wizards were present during the encounter, further information is welcome. To date, the only information that has come to light is that Arcturus Avery, who was known to be an attendee at Rodolphus Lestrange's bachelor party, has been missing since the same day that Fenwick was killed.

* * *

Olivia Avery was staying in one of the guest houses abutting the Black Family Estate. She had never expected that she would be here to witness Bellatrix's wedding. Indeed, she thought that it would be much sooner that they would be here to celebrate _her_ wedding to Bellatrix's charming cousin.

It was just after the first Defense class in her fourth year and Olivia was already bored. Why, her brother had already shown her how to break through half of the silly defensive spells that they would learn and if _she_ knew how to get through them, it was surely useless to expect full-grown dark wizards to become immobilized in response. She was walking a little absentmindedly and had taken this opportunity to pile her lovely blonde hair atop her head. Maybe she could wear it that way when she went to yet another pureblood wedding. It was funny how there were so many, particularly as there was such a limited set of wizards who could even marry. The glass in the stair was just dark enough so that she could see her reflection, so she sneakily twisted her head so she could catch a glimpse of her new hairstyle.

In the process, she missed the trick stair in the staircase and quite vaulted into the air from her subsequent trip. She landed unceremoniously at the base of the stair after quite flattening a slender black-haired youth who had the ill-luck to be passing in the hall as she fell.

"I'm really sorry."

He swept his hair out of his eyes and merely nodded and took his stride back towards the main hall.

It was only a week before Olivia got to see him again. She was sitting with the other Slytherins in the great hall and saw with great interest that the new prefect Bellatrix was talking to the boy. She poked Rosalyn Travers, who was older than her and an erstwhile friend to Bellatrix,

"What is it?" bristled the ordinarily charming Rosalyn.

"Goodness. Who is that fellow that Bella is talking to? Is he in our house?"

Rosalyn's cat-like green eyes were dancing with merriment.

"Oh he's just one of her year mates. I don't think it matters very much."

Olivia looked confused and Rosalyn added mischievously,

"Do you think he's cute, Olivia? One never can account for _your_ taste."

After Olivia had left dinner, Rosalyn got up and sidled next to Bellatrix. Bellatrix glared at the pretty brunette, who had never quite forgiven her yearmate for snatching up the beautiful Lucius Malfoy the previous year.

"Bella, darling. That little fourth year is going to try to date your cousin."

"Why should _I _care, Rosie? He's just a third year."

"I just thought you should know."

Her pretty golden locks were tied up behind her head and had cascaded down her back and shoulders.

The boy had entered the library. He was wearing a crimson and gold tie and Olivia sighed rather audibly. He turned to look at her and his mouth turned upwards into a grin.

"Good gracious Olivia, did you follow me to the library?"

"What? Oh, I'm sorry. How did you know my name?"

He whistled and looked surprised.

"I think for the number of times your elder brother set my broom on fire that you would at least remember me. I don't think I got along with your family."

Olivia continued to look confused, particularly given Rosalyn's odd response.

"I'm Sirius? Sirius Black."

* * *

He could still remember the last wedding that he had attended. Emily Longbottom was the bride, the grand-daughter of one of his mother's aunts. Not that he could really tell an aunt from a cousin, given the twisted pureblood culture. He was shade too young to be a groomsman then, the same age as his brother Regulus was now.

They were both dressed alike, in black dress-robes and neatly tied cravats, adorned with the ostentatious Black Family crest. If Sirius were not taller, they would have passed for twins. Regulus still worshipped his elder brother, despite the latter's sorting into the disreputable Gryffindor house. Regulus had only been in Slytherin for a few months and he appeared to be willing to trade the cache of Slytherin for the privilege of being in his brother's house.

"I don't like this collar. It is hot and itchy," complained Sirius in a very clear voice to their mother.

Walburga nearly rolled her eyes.

"Yes mother, I don't like it either. My neck is quite red from it, as you can see," explained Regulus, tiptoeing so that he was nearly at his brother's height. He was slighter of build, as one could see if they were examined closely, but their kinship was clear.

Sirius did not like his little brother following him around. It was fine when they were both out of school, but he had other friends now. Still, if his other friends couldn't come, it didn't hurt to have him around.

When they entered the large hall, Sirius could already see James' figure in the crowd.

"Get lost, Reg."

His brother opened his bright sapphire eyes as wide as they could go, upset that his idol did not want to associate with him. But eleven was too old to be seen as weak, so he went to find his Slytherin friends.

* * *

Bellatrix returned to Hogwarts some days after Sirius, even though her husband had fled from the authorities after the notice in the Prophet. She had nothing to do with the event, as it was clear to the authorities. Nor was she willing to provide information about his whereabouts. Rosalyn Travers also returned, although Olivia Avery did not. Her father was distraught about the loss of his only son, not to mention what he would tell the Concillarium that his heir was now his insipid daughter, Olivia. Perhaps they too would be expelled, as so many members had been.

The teachers treated her as she had always been treated, although she suspected that they would not be sorry to see her graduate this year.

She had noticed what Sirius had done to her in the ceremony. It was certainly more loving than anything that Rodolphus had done – would perhaps ever do during their marriage. Perhaps that was the most love that she had ever known. Still, it was weakness, and the Dark Lord did not take kindly to love.

At least, for her, what mattered was that there was no one else. Sirius was hers and only hers, even if they could never be together again.

Sirius continued to sit in the bedroom for hours after James had left for breakfast and was still there when he came back for lunch.

"You know that there was nothing you could have done. They might have killed you as well, had you tried," explained James gently.

"Perhaps I could have stopped them earlier. Before they were so sloshed that they killed an innocent passerby. I know they would have listened to me earlier than Benjy. Merlin, they always hated him. Even when they were just playing Quidditch against him, he was never the kind that they would have respected."

James only nodded, realizing what Sirius meant. When they ranked people by their purity of blood, even the most hated message that came from the mouth of a revered pureblood heir would be more welcome than an assent from the scum they called Muggleborns.

"You don't even know what I'm most ashamed of – I tried to get Bellatrix to flee with me. She _knew_ what they were doing out there, and we know that Roldy would have listened to her much sooner than he would have heard what I was saying. She didn't even listen to me."

"Sirius, you know what we've been telling you about Bellatrix for years – "

"I know, I know. But she really wasn't always this way, at least not to me."

James knew that Sirius was wrong, but he did not have the heart to tell him.

"Let's go and play some Quidditch."

Sirius grabbed his broom reluctantly. As they walked out to the pitch, they could see the Slytherins practicing. Sirius' eyes narrowed, and he clenched the beater's bat tightly.

They were holding a crimson bag in their hands as they played, which was worth extra points if the Quaffle fell inside. James looked more amused than offended,

"Say, that's not a version of Quidditch I've ever seen."

Team Captain Valory Selwyn smirked and glanced at Sirius' cousin, Evan. Evan pointed his wand at the bag, and what looked like a shower of cork pieces fell into it.

"We wanted to honor his memory," continued Valory, his dark eyebrows looming menacing above his face. Only Regulus on the Slytherin side looked chagrined at the behavior of his captain.

"We heard you had to leave. Were you afraid they'd find out your true colors, Black?"

"What _are_ your true colors, Black?"

"I left because what they, what _you_, were doing was stupid. Didn't you think twice before you got someone killed, Evan?"

Valory looked more surprised that Sirius was interested in talking about it. He wasn't really the typical Slytherin sometimes, he was generally well-mannered, often mean, but never as callous as some of them seemed. They were all on the ground, and many of the players had dropped their brooms as Sirius and his cousin eyed each other.

"If you had just joined us, maybe you wouldn't be asking that."

"Joined you how, Evan? If you keep playing around with Lord Voldemort, you're going to get killed."

Sirius was no longer looking at Evan, but at Regulus. Thirteen-year-old Regulus, who didn't say anything to Evan, but looked grief-stricken at hearing about Fenwick's death.

* * *

They were all wearing masks in the distance, so she put on her own as well. The slippery silk robes felt coarse against her skin, as though she was allergic to the texture. The Dark Lords figure was clear in the darkness.

"So which one of you thought it would be wise to go _Muggle hunting_ for the party?"

No one spoke.

"Thought it would be some good old-fashioned fun, did you? I suspect that all of you, clever as you are, will blame dear Arcturus. Or Sirius. Perhaps we will blame him, the black sheep of the Black family."

The Dark Lord laughed mirthlessly at his own joke, curving his wand in an arc so that the others laughed as well—a vindictive Cheering charm.

"We will all pay for your transgressions at the stag party. At least we all know who wasn't there. My dear Bella," and the Lord stretched out his white hand in approval. She kneeled beside it and kissed it, afraid that this would only make it easier for the others to turn her over to the Ministry when the time came.

"Won't _someone_ have to pay for this, my darling Bellatrix?"

"Yes master."

"Who will that be, my dear? Your beloved husband, perhaps? His trusted groomsmen?"

"No, master."

The Dark Lord shook his great head, the only one visible out of the many masks surrounding him. The scene was so lopsided, it seemed fitting. The many who had taken the mark were all different. Not all had been recruited from the members of the Concillarium, the first families of magical Britain. Some were those who simply sought to make a living while supporting the most powerful wizard of all, at least so they hoped. They were only united by him – and his mark.

"No, Bellatrix? I thought not. Why should _I_ have to sacrifice my supporters when only some Muggle-lover has been injured? No, indeed. My dear Bella will get to choose, as a – shall we say – wedding present?"

She was giddy at this suggestion: what power would be possible from this instance? There were so many who could be targeted by the Death Eaters, so many who deserved it. But no, it was clear to her instantly.

* * *

Night had fallen since the ill-fated visit to the Quidditch pitch. Sirius still hadn't spoken all day, but had lain in the darkness behind the folds of the canopy. James pushed the curtains back once after dinner, and Sirius had not protested.

"He has taken the mark."

"As so many others in your family have done, Sirius. Why are you surprised?"

"It's my fault. I could have prevented this. I could have been a better brother to him."

"If you stayed with your family longer, even you would have taken the mark. Look at them. The Rosiers, the Blacks, the Lestranges. None are free from its curse. But we can do nothing as they hide in plain sight."

"There's no evidence to convict them, you know," replied Sirius.

"Yes, they can't really charge them with anything. We can't seize their wands, and the only witness is dead. If you testified, maybe."

Sirius shook his head.

* * *

It was the evening of Emily Longbottom's ill-fated wedding to Rabastan Lestrange. Sirius thought it might have been the last time that Emily looked so happy, given the horror that she was forced to live with now. Neither of them were family, so Sirius was spared from the indignity of the double-crested robes and was content wearing only the Black Family shield.

He was away from James for a moment, thinking about what would be a good prank to play on the Slytherins. They were just as insufferable here as they were there, but fortunately, the Longbottoms had brought an equally large contingent of Gryffindors to this gathering. It seemed that even the Prewetts and the Weasleys had been invited.

"If you ask me, I wouldn't tolerate that kind of riff-raff at _my_ wedding."

"No, I'd bet your brother would light their brooms on fire."

"He didn't mean anything by it, Sirius. You are always so touchy. Anyway, that Gideon is a looker, I have to say."

"Want me to tell him for you, Olivia? What would you say to him, darling – your family is a no-good blood traitor, but if we forget that for a moment…"

"Any case, I'd rather have you, dear."


	23. Disapproval

_**Chapter Twenty-Three: Disapproval**_

The next few months passed quietly, the blanket of snow that typically surrounded the castle slowly melted away. Olivia Avery never returned to Hogwarts after her conversation with Bellatrix, and within a few weeks, the students had rearranged such that her usual seat at the Slytherin table was filled. Sirius was unusually studious, paying little attention to anything other than his books. After another night passed with Sirius cheerily informing his friends that he would be spending the evening in the library, James gave Remus a meaningful glance as Sirius slipped away.

"He's been like this since Fenwick's murder hearing a few weeks ago."

"He declined to testify, didn't he?" asked Remus softly, remembering the media circus that the hearings had been. There had been very little evidence that the Ministry officials could glean from the pieces that Dumbledore had found. All of the Muggles' memories had been modified with very powerful charms, likely the efforts of several wizards. The magical signature was impossible to trace to a single wizard, or even a group of wizards. Everyone knew that it had been the groomsmen at the Black wedding, but very few wanted to charge the powerful families with murder and there was no evidence to do so. And so, the Fenwick death was left an open case. For days afterward, Sirius looked guilty.

"He could have named the killers," said James, looking upset, "he could have been willing to take Veritaserum to put them in their place."

"He's only fifteen, James. Voldemort would kill him. His own family would kill him."

In the library, Sirius was transcribing pages out of _Numerology and Gramatica_, as his parents had forced him to take Arithmancy when he was trying to enroll in Muggle Studies as a third year. Lily was sitting next to him, specifically avoiding any conversation.

"Why are you using the old book," asked Lily, who was peering out of what appeared to be comically large spectacles into her own copy of _New Theory of Numerology_.

"I'm confused. We're supposed to be figuring out the tensors in this diagram, but I've forgotten the vector addition that we learned last term."

Lily shook her head and took off the spectacles. She drew some sort of complex diagram on Sirius' parchment, showing how the vector space was what enabled wizards to Apparate, and how this might be used when the destination of the Apparition was unknown. By the time she was finished, Sirius was looking at the night sky from the library window.

"Full moon soon."

As they moved back to return to their Tower common room, Lily noticed Cornelia Crouch gesturing towards her.

"Is Sophie unable to make it again?" asked Lily exasperatedly. Sophie Frobisher was notoriously unreliable, particularly for a Prefect. She seemed to have an extraordinarily full social calendar and was a member of half a dozen clubs—none of which appeared to take precedence over her prefect duties. To be fair, Lily rather liked Cornelia better, and was glad to spend more time with her rather than with Sophie.

"Is the Pope Catholic?" returned Cornelia, taking out a schedule to add Sophie's prefect duties to her planner.

"It it is a difficult time for all of us," added Lily, wisely, alluding to the clear distress of many Ravenclaws after the death of their recently graduated Prefect and Quidditch Captain, Benjy Fenwick.

"Oh don't be silly. She didn't know him. Father is of course, furious. He is distressed that something like this could happen under Minister Bagnold's nose—and of course, his own."

Lily was rather surprised by Cornelia's matter-of-fact attitude—her father had been derided in the news for their failure to prosecute _anyone_ for Fenwick's murder.

Cornelia was not looking at Lily's surprised face, but looking at Sirius, who was trying to sneak away unnoticed.

"Don't think that I don't know that you could have testified," spat Cornelia, her eyes filling with tears—

"after everything you said about how we have to give _process_ to the accused, how we cannot make decisions before knowing all of the information, and after _all that_ you persist in refusing to say a _single _word. And Benjy Fenwick is dead."

Sirius and Lily had returned to the dormitory in silence, and Sirius felt Lily's eyes on him and thought that she felt her disapproval. It was just as well that the truth came out now—he already knew how the whole world felt about his family—and just when they thought that he might be a little bit different—they found out otherwise. Lily was determinedly avoiding his gaze, and he made his way up past the common room in without looking at anyone else.

In the Gryffindor boys' dormitory, James and Peter were sitting on James's bed, looking at their long-suffering parchment with notations about the passages of the school. It looked a bit like a very old map that had not been made properly in the first instance and had needed to be remade several times—which was—of course—what it actually was.

"…and it should be pretty easy to sneak out of the Tower after the younger students have gone to sleep," continued James, explaining his plan for their adventures that night. They were going to surprise Moony with their plan.

Sirius's eyes were alight with excitement as he pulled out a giant piece of parchment from his bag with some scribbles on it.

"And this—my friends—shall record our triumph for future generations," announced Sirius, waving the parchment like a great flag.

"Padfoot, this ruddy thing has got equations on it," complained Peter, who had not done well in mathematics in Muggle School and had bad memories from it, while James looked extremely pleased with that Peter had managed to find a suitable nickname for Sirius.

"I think I might have to agree with him. This has got our Arithmancy homework on it," added James, with a sidelong glance at the parchment. Remus had already been taken to Madame Pomfrey's wing. James wisely made no mention of Sirius's refusal to testify at the Ministry hearings.

Sirius didn't say anything more about the mostly empty parchment, but sometimes took it out to make cryptic notes on it.

"So we'll go out the exit near Hagrid's hut to get to the Whomping Willow. Peter will immobilize the tree again. I was thinking that we would explore the wing near the Slytherin common room, which is on the side closer to the lake."

James shook his head, while Peter had already stopped speaking at the mention of 'Slytherin'.

"No, Sirius, there's the cliff there, remember?"

Sirius looked mischievous again as he made wild gestures with his hands – indicating that with their heightened animal senses, the cliff would be no problem.

"It'll be very simple, as that's the side closest to the Forbidden Forest, and no one will be awake to see us then."

Soon thereafter, James and Peter hid under the invisibility cloak and Sirius went outside to chat up the Fat Lady. It never seemed odd to anyone that Sirius would be out, as he was always the lovable dog, chasing after pretty girls.

"So then I told her I had another girlfriend, and do you know what she did?"

The Fat Lady looked merely inquisitive.

"She emptied her entire vat of butterbeer on my new robes. My mother was so upset that I was shut up with Kreacher for the entire summer. I'll bet you've never had _that_ nightmare." There was a tapping noise from the corridor that Sirius understood as being from James, and he quickly disappeared under the cloak as well.

"It's lucky you're such a runt, Peter. Otherwise we'd never all fit under this thing," remarked Sirius as James glared at him. Peter looked rather displeased at the comment.

* * *

The cloaked individuals quietly Apparated to the small, unobtrusive house at the edge of the development, next to the junkyard. In fact, if you didn't look closely, it was just as though there was no house at all. Or maybe, even if you _did_ look closely. Two tall auburn-haired wizards, who might have been twins, they looked so alike were among the first to enter the room. They nodded at the little wizard with a violet top hat who had just appeared behind them. One of the auburn-haired wizards tripped over a fallen branch and fell on his arm.

"Blast it, stupid cloak."

"Got another crack in your watch, have you, Fabian?"

The fallen wizard blushed, and at closer glance, he seemed younger than his brother.

The members of the order slowly assembled around the small room, which seemed cramped even with the engorgement spell.

"Voldemort has gotten more supporters," announced Albus Dumbledore rather quietly, his blue eyes scanning the room. Here, no one flinched at the mention of the Dark Lord's name, even as others outside had stopped saying it, in fear that they would end up like Benjy Fenwick.

Young Frank Longbottom was here as well, just barely out from school. Arthur Weasley had recruited him recently.

"That is what Emily has said as well," responded Frank.

Alastor Moody turned and looked angrily at the round-faced man, who unconsciously stepped backwards.

"If you don't want Emily to be killed, you shouldn't ask her about reporting her husband's whereabouts," the auror's craggy face looked rather menacing.

"We didn't know what we were doing, letting her marry into that family! But Emily says that Rabastan was there with his brother when Fenwick was killed."

"But she said nothing when the Ministry had the hearing," whispered Laura Bones. Benjy had been just a shade behind her at Hogwarts, and had served as Edgar's best man at their wedding.

"The Black boy knew as well, and he said nothing," thundered Emmeline Vance, another new addition to their ranks. Charles Potter looked meaningfully at his wife, certain that it was his sons' best friend that they were murmuring about.

"Family, always family. It cannot be helped," murmured Gideon, looking meaningfully at his brother and sister. Fabian only shrugged.

"Enough. We don't need to have dissonance in our ranks, when that is precisely what Voldemort wants to create. We must know who is involved, and we must know what assets are at their disposal. Until we can get this kind of information, we are sitting ducks."

"How do you propose that we do this?" asked Marlene McKinnon who was looking sadly at the team picture they had taken at the last meeting, Fenwick was waving and smiling in the background.

"We will have multiple teams keeping tails on known Death Eaters. The important thing is _not_ engage with the enemy, we just need information and we do not have many supporters in our ranks. We know that Barty Crouch's methods can only sow more discontent. So far we know from the Ministry hearings that the Groomsmen at Bellatrix Lestrange's wedding are likely involved, and likely Death Eaters, and we have certain information from Emily Longbottom that is available. This means Lucius Malfoy, Rodolphus Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, and…Sirius Black. However, we have reason to believe that Sirius Black left before the attacks on Fenwick from information that I have received from a Muggle train conductor. We also know that Arcturus Avery is dead."

* * *

The three transformed boys were inching on the side of the castle nearest the Slytherin common room. Sirius kept transforming back into a human to scribble notes on his parchment, which was infuriating the other two. Stag-James glared at Sirius through his deer-face, which was quite comical, as deer seemed to be so docile in general. Sirius reluctantly turned back into a dog, and the three of them ambled toward the Shrieking Shack. They could hear Remus transform. Peter let him out of the Shack and Remus howled to the moon, Sirius nipping at his heels.

Sirius was delighted that he could hear Remus' thoughts in this state amidst the barking, and sometimes he wondered if James could as well – or was it just between the two dog-like animals? He had never imagined that the Animagus transformation would go so well, or have such good results for their friendship. As Sirius' dog form dove into the icy waters of the lake, he thought, belatedly, that it might have been better to save this _particular_ adventure for a rather warmer time of year. He was just deep enough in the lake to see the otherworldly green glow emitting from the windows of the Slytherin common room—if he went a bit closer—he might be able to see inside—

Remus howled. Sirius resurfaced, noticing the distressed expression on James's face. He understood it to mean that none of the other animals had figured out how to submerge themselves and still continue to breathe. Come to think of it—he wasn't sure whether it was the wisest idea in the first place—he wasn't exactly invisible in his dog disguise. The four of them ambled into Hogsmeade—breathing in the delightful smell of freedom and breaking the rules. And the added benefit—it had driven the thoughts of girls—whether brown-haired or heavily-lidded—right out of Sirius's head.

* * *

Third Year Gryffindors had Double Herbology with the Ravenclaws—which provided Sirius a welcome respite from Slytherin taunting—and of course—from Bellatrix. They were harvesting puffapods and Sirius was not doing a good job at all. He was lost in thoughts of Bellatrix such that the pods he was supposed to be harvesting were getting away with remarkable ease.

"And here I thought _Blacks_ were supposed to be good at magic," remarked a taunting voice that immediately set his hackles up. Sirius had long ago discovered that such comments typically came from Slytherins and was surprised to hear such remarks in this setting. He turned around, his face red and his wand arm raised.

"No one is going to hex you," continued Cornelia Crouch, her brown eyes dancing in merriment. She continued in a whisper—"unless you want Professor Sprout to give you extra homework—which I trust that you don't if you want to keep going on with all those girls—you had better harvest those pods properly."

Sirius looked very haughty and miffed at her comments, and took the opportunity to wordlessly return to where James, Remus and Peter were standing.

"Cat got your tongue?" asked James, after Sirius persisted in focusing very intently on his pods to make up for his transgressions earlier.

"No. I just don't like being told of by stuck-up, nosy people," responded Sirius, making sure that Cornelia was within earshot.

James and Remus simply looked at him quizzically, and Peter gave a little shrug.

An hour later, they had managed to please Professor Sprout with the pods they had harvested—although no one had managed to win any additional points for either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

* * *

Andromeda had attended her sister's wedding in disguise. It was ironic, really, given that she could have easily attended as herself if she had just fit in better with her family—but the only way she could really fit in was by pretending to be someone else.

As Bellatrix walked down the aisle, Andromeda stopped to think of how striking her sister really was. The glossy red of her lips only threw into contrast the white of her face, her heavily lidded eyes hidden by the veil. Narcissa followed their eldest sister to the front of the hall, and Andromeda thought, with something like regret, that she ought to have occupied that place behind her sister.

There, at the front, was Sirius. Once again, Andromeda thought how hard it was for her to understand him. He was so sympathetic to her plight—it was so like his own. But somehow—his charming self had managed to retain some degree of favor with their family. Maybe it was because he was the Black heir and thought to be an extremely powerful wizard. They just didn't want to let him go. And of course, there was his relationship with Bellatrix.

The wizard was announcing the bond between Bellatrix Elise and Rodolphus Alessander. The stars above their heads fell for a second—and they turned into serpents on the way down, which nipped at Bellatrix and Rodolphus. Not the most auspicious of omens. In the background, she could hear someone—Olivia Avery—probably—sobbing.


	24. The Quidditch Final

_**Chapter Twenty-Four: The Quidditch Final**_

As late spring came and went, the whole school seemed rather more subdued than before. The Fifth and Seventh Year students were wholly preoccupied with the exams that would determine their wizarding careers, and many students were taken to the Hospital Wing from exam nerves.

Lily had behaved very coldly towards Sirius and his friends since the encounter with Cornelia. She was of course, civil to Remus, since they had Prefect duties together. However, James was confused and hurt by the sudden turn of events and expressed his disappointment by hexing his fellow students. Cornelia, of course, lost no opportunity to shoot scathing looks at Sirius, especially when he would try to use the same practice rooms that she was using to prepare for his OWLs.

"Oh, Sirius, you don't need to practice _Defense_ against the Dark Arts. I'm sure that _Bellatrix_ will be happy to give you a pass in gratitude for your silence."

Sirius rolled his eyes. He was approached by a small boy in the hall, who bore an elaborately decorated note—inviting him to a Slug Club party.

As he made his way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, he ran into James, who he was pleased to see had a similarly decorated note.

"I think he wants us to have a break from exams, mate," said James by way of explanation, who was looking around and moving his hair to make it seem even more windswept and untidy.

"Haha, I've already got a break from exams with Quidditch practice—I don't need to go to one of these events and be paraded around to Sluggy's friends."

Remus and Peter had just entered the room, and made their way over the where Sirius and James were sitting.

"Oh, more Slug Club invitations? You'd think he'd give it a rest now that we have exam prep."

"Moony, I think you are rather more strained exam preparation than from your monthly visits," remarked James, looking meaningful.

"Prongs, if you continue referring to Remus's _furry little problem_ in this way, people are going to think that he's a girl,"

"No, I think James has correctly attributed Remus's ailments to Pre-Moon Syndrome," continued Peter, picking up where Sirius had left off and drawing groans from everyone.

"Who are you going to take this time, Sirius," asked Remus, who had taken to gauging Sirius's mood by his eagerness to date.

"Oh, I might not go. I mean, you know that Slughorn is Head of Slytherin, and I'd really rather not."

Everyone took this to mean that Sirius wanted to avoid Bellatrix at all costs.

"Well, _I_ know who I'm going to take," added James brightly.

"Lily Evans!" exclaimed Peter and Remus, together, as Sirius pulled out James's ostensible Charms notes and found _LE_ written on them in pretty letters.

"Not so loud!" returned James, turning rather red, trying to pull the parchment out of Sirius's hands.

"I don't think voodoo works, mate. Are you hoping that if you put hearts all over your schedule that Evans will materialize from thin air?"

"I think she is more likely to materialize if James refrained from hexing people in class," noted Remus—referring to James and Sirius's attack on Mulciber last potions class.

"Well—to be fair—it was meant for _Snivellus_," James responded, ruefully, as the others burst into laughter.

"Anyway, it's time to go," said Sirius, "Pacey is going to be annoyed with us if we miss practice again."

"Last time it was because of detention," replied James rather weakly.

* * *

The last Quidditch game would be the final exciting thing to happen before their OWLs, which only meant there would be hours of studying in the coming weeks. Still, the day looked rather spectacular and a light breeze rippled the grass on the Quidditch Pitch. The last match of the year was between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and it appeared that Ted Tonks was commentating again.

Sirius could see Bellatrix from amidst the crowd of Slytherin supporters. His brother Regulus had caught the snitch in the first match against Slytherin this year, which had put them in third place before Hufflepuff in the current standings. The Ravenclaw team was rather more subdued—as fellow Quidditch players—they had known Benjy Fenwick best and found it hard to believe that it was only three years ago that he had been narrowly thwarted from catching the Snitch on this very pitch. Sirius hoped that they would only think of this memory fondly, rather than associating that failed catch with Sirius, which would add to the opprobrium that Sirius had faced recently.

Eleanor Pacey, who was a sixth year, was pacing in the Quidditch locker rooms.

"Ravenclaw's put on a very strong side this year—and we're going to have to beat them by quite a bit to overcome both them and Slytherin to win the Cup," and Pacey shook her head, as their current Seeker Zelda Lee seemed rather unable to match the talents of their previous Captain, Samuel Goldstein.

They entered the pitch and Pacey shook hands with the very handsome Ravenclaw team captain, Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was now in his final year at Hogwarts.

Madam Hooch blew the whistle and the two teams took to their brooms—Sirius could hear the magically amplified voice of Theodore Tonks as both he and Ludo Bagman picked up their Beater's Bats.

"And here we are again, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw—Gryffindor has an uphill battle ahead of them—much like Transylvania will face in this year's Quidditch World Cup,"

Andromeda Black was sitting next to Ted, looking unabashedly happy at him as he continued announcing, ignoring the glares from Bellatrix and Narcissa from across the pitch. Near them, an odd wizard with extremely light—almost white hair seemed rather more interested in the clouds than the match itself. As Sirius looked at the wizard—who seemed to be sitting next to a young witch with a great bird on her head—his eyes reluctantly fell on Cornelia Crouch who seemed to be studying determinedly and averting her eyes from anyone on the field.

"And Shacklebolt has the Quaffle—he passes to Podmore—who may be called slippery fingers by some, is a very talented…"

But Ted didn't finish, since Podmore had managed drop the Quaffle once again,

"Picked up by late Gryffindor addition Ogden—who replaced Fabian Prewett when he graduated—and Ogden passes to Pacey, who does a nice roll to avoid a bludger and then to Potter—who scores!"

Cornelia looked up to see Sirius doing a lap around the field and congratulating James and her stomach did an uncomfortable little flip. Xeno Lovegood was looking at her curiously and had made some remark about how it was fortunate they had Bibble on their team, which Cornelia rather ignored.

But Sirius had noticed the Ravenclaw seeker Coote had dived, and he aimed the bludger at her—but while his missed, it seemed that Ludo (who was really a remarkable player) had done the same thing and had distracted her sufficiently that the snitch had flown again.

A collective "boo" emitted from the Ravenclaw supporters, who didn't seem to care that it was not Sirius who had thwarted their dreams once again, but his teammate Ludo Bagman.

Shacklebolt had gotten the Quaffle again, and now seemed determined to keep it away from Podmore, and scored on his own.

"Sixty-ten to Gryffindor!"

Ogden had seized the Quaffle on the rebound, and he passed it to James, who looked for Lily for just a second before continuing across the pitch, and he passed it to Pacey, who scored once again. The Ravenclaw beaters seemed unable to compete with the incredible speed of Ludo Bagman, who did not relinquish control over the bludgers for even a second and presented a rather stark contrast to the laissez-faire playing style that Sirius ascribed to—often blowing kisses at girls while occasionally pausing to hit the bludgers. It seemed that Sirius realized this and began to devote more of his concentration to actually playing the game.

"The efforts of Bagman and Black seem to be putting a stop to any control of the Quaffle by Shacklebolt and company—yes—Potter's seized it again and has just made another goal with an assist from Ogden," and here Ted gave an exasperated sigh, "One hundred-ten to Gryffindor!"

They were almost one-hundred points up, which as Pacey had so drilled into their brains, was the important threshold before which they could win the Quidditch Cup if Zelda managed to catch the Snitch. Sirius hit another bludger at Shacklebolt—the most worthy target, as Podmore seemed unable to hold the Quaffle in his hands even without any distractions, possibly because of nerves. Just as Shacklebolt lost control of the Quaffle and James had seized it—throwing it to Pacey, who scored again as Bagman had hit a well-timed bludger at the Ravenclaw Keeper.

It seemed that luck was on their side, as Zelda seemed to actually have seen something and was zooming towards the ground—Coote was entirely too far away to catch up with her—but Sirius did not manage to see the end of their race, as everything suddenly went black.

* * *

He woke up in the sterile atmosphere of the hospital wing, his head rather swollen and bruised.

Madam Pomfrey was looking at him and shaking her head. He heard a voice behind him, which remarked rather weakly,

"What kind of Beater are you supposed to be if you are hit on the head with a bludger?"

Sirius turned his head, which was rather painful, and saw Cornelia Crouch sitting beside his bed.

"What happened to the match?"

"You _would_ ask that, wouldn't you, after you'd dropped fifty feet and hurt your head? Gryffindor won the Cup, of course. Lee managed to find her way to a Snitch at long last. I think it might be a first," continued Cornelia in her rather dry tone.

"I fell off my broom? Merlin, that's embarrassing," said Sirius, not asking why Cornelia was waiting for him in the hospital wing.

"It wasn't an accident, you know. That you were hit by the bludger," added Cornelia, her brown eyes with an extremely serious expression.

"Oh?"

"The Ravenclaw beaters were friends with Fenwick. They blame you for his death. As do many people. They saw that you were looking elsewhere, and aimed for you," Cornelia's voice was rather thick as though she found it difficult to say all of this.

Sirius managed to sit up in his bed, and looked at Cornelia more directly.

"And why aren't my friends gathered around my bed?"

At this, Cornelia managed to produce a small smile,

"Oh, they were—but James thought that you would prefer seeing me rather than all of them."

Her smile emboldened Sirius, who pulled her closer to him, and waited a second (hoping that Madam Pomfrey had not managed to return so quickly) before kissing Cornelia Crouch once again.

After some time—or what felt like some time, Cornelia wanted to leave and study for her OWLs again and Madam Pomfrey seemed to think that his bandages were sufficient and he could leave the hospital wing. Sirius made his way up to Gryffindor Tower with a bandaged head like a mummy and opened the portrait of the Fat Lady to see a raucous party.

James was of course in the center, along with the rest of the Quidditch team, who were all pleased to see Sirius when he entered.

"We thought that bludger might have taken your head off, mate," shouted James, his mouth seemingly full of butterbeer.

"We didn't want to stay in the Hospital wing because of the party," added Peter, rather unfeelingly—

"What _Wormtail_ means is that we thought you might like seeing Cornelia's face when you awoke from your slumber," explained Remus, emphasizing Peter's name as a show of his own brilliance.

"Right in one," replied Sirius, one hand grasping another bottle of Butterbeer.

The party went on for hours, even as Professor McGonagall came to shut it down, and Lily continued to glare at them when possible.

Soon it was just the four Gryffindor fifth-years who remained in the common room, with James engraving an especially visible _LE_ into the corner of the wooden table. Sirius's eyes were alight with excitement as he pulled out the group's most valuable possession—their notations of where everything was in the school—and his giant parchment with Arithmancy notations on them.

"No way mate, I am _not_ going to be studying for Runes right now," exclaimed James, shaking his head at the huge scroll that Sirius had unfurled on the table.

"My dear Prongs, this is so much better. What if our notations were responsive to what we needed—and they let us know _who_ were in the parts of the castle we wanted to explore," finished Sirius rather breathlessly—

"That's impossible," responded Remus as he examined the giant parchment more closely.

"I don't think it is, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough at Charms to be able to pull it off. I've been doing some Arithmancy research to figure out if it's really possible—whether you can really isolate a person's magical signature to a single location—plus there's the question of whether Hogwarts is unplottable…"

At this juncture, Sirius pulled a few more dusty books out of his bag, which made Peter sneeze violently several times.

"It's not," said Remus confidently, "it says in _Hogwarts: A History_ that the Founders wanted the school to be found such that all young witches and wizards could find their place of study without difficult. There are, of course, Muggle repelling charms all around here."

"Well, _thank you_ Professor Moony," said James, who was looking at the parchment in earnest as well.

"There are Location Charms, I know—like the Four Point Spell, but that only knows whether something is North," continued Sirius, eager to reveal his research.

"Could also be a supersensory type of charm," added Peter, rather thoughtfully as the others nodded.

"Anyway, the first step is to create the map itself—these notes are not clear enough and they don't give a sense of how large the castle really is—"

"And the map should cover some of the grounds too, I think," pointed out James

"Yes, so I've been researching ways of imprinting an image based on a thought, and it doesn't seem quite as difficult as the other, the only problem I've run into is that we would want the thought's of all four of us—"

"Padfoot, I think that as long as the images in our minds overlap generally and do not conflict, the principle would apply generally,"

"Yes, I think Moony is right," interjected James.

At this, Sirius pulled out another giant parchment piece from his bag, and pointed his wand at it and shouted, "_Inscribe Totalum_,"

The wand began to drip ink over the parchment as Sirius moved the wand around and the droplets began to extend across the parchment, creating corridors and hallways where before there was emptiness. As Sirius finally put down the wand and the others looked carefully at the map which was extremely complete in certain areas (Especially the Heads' Suite and the surrounding areas, thought James) and rather empty in others—although it seemed that Sirius's many girlfriend's and their interests made Sirius a particularly good source of information about the castle. Yes, there was the Charms corridor in painstaking detail near the front of the school in the middle of the map, on the side opposite the lake—probably knowledge from his romance with Sophie Frobisher. The other House common rooms were also visible—the Hufflepuff and Slytherin dungeon common rooms in the bottom portion of the map, not too far from Slughorn's dungeon offices, the Ravenclaw tower common room at the top of the map.

Remus took out his own wand and tapped the parchment himself, muttering the same incantation, and immediately—the emptier parts of the map began to fill—the several floors in the Hospital Wing and the grounds near the Whomping Willow were thrown into sharp relief. The map itself seemed to be drinking in their knowledge, understanding their interests. When James took his turn, he was slightly embarrassed to see that his own desires were easily visible in the map—the Quidditch Pitch became clearly demarcated, the Transfiguration classroom, the path to Care of Magical Creatures where James had suddenly realized that it was the pretty redheaded witch whom he loved and wanted to be with, not too far from Hagrid's cottage.

By the time Peter was holding his own wand like a quill—none of the others had taken Muggle studies—and that classroom finally appeared alongside the Defense against the Dark Arts first floor room, the secret passageways that they all knew and used to Hogsmeade were already clearly visible, but Peter made the kitchens even more clear and the area near the Slytherin common room also became sharper in the image.

The map itself was more spectacular than Sirius could have imagined as he examined the previously blank parchment with interest. The four friends soon realized that their endeavors had taken much longer than they might have anticipated, and Sirius motioned to go up to their beds and go to sleep.

"We can't just leave it like this—someone might find it and see it," pointed out Peter, rather astutely.

Remus took out his wand and tapped the parchment once such that the map vanished.

"What did you do? Is it gone?" asked James, rather concerned for Remus as Sirius looked quite furious. Remus smiled and tapped the parchment again, this time whispering,

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

The map once again came to life, the tiny lines that had disappeared before spread across the parchment. Only, this time, the top of the parchment bore an inscription,

_Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot & Prongs_

_Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present:_

_The MARAUDER'S MAP_.


	25. Fear of Levels in Ordinary Wizarding?

_**Chapter Twenty-Five: Fear of Levels in Ordinary Wizarding?**_

Their map was still unfinished—while the newly christened Marauders' wanted to spend their free time researching Arithmancy and plotting Charms, they would have done so at the expense of studying for their OWLs, which Sirius and Peter might have countenanced but James, and certainly Remus would not. Remus already was worried, as there was a full moon only three weeks before their exams, which cut into his studying very much. This was the first time since their transformation that the Marauders had not decided to accompany him in their Animagus forms, feeling that time would be better spent _studying_.

When Remus had already been taken away by Madam Pomfrey, Sirius was studying in the library. Cornelia Crouch came over to sit next to him, for which he was grateful—their time together had become extremely scarce even after she had forgiven him for failing to testify at the Ministry about Fenwick's death—she too was unwilling to stop studying.

"Here, quiz me on Charms," said Cornelia, after they had sat together for what seemed to Sirius like hours.

"Oh please, like you don't know all of it. I'm bored," replied Sirius, noting with some annoyance that this would have been the time when he ordinarily visited Bellatrix. But they were certainly not on speaking terms any longer—not after he had given the ultimatum. Still, sometimes he wished that option were still available.

"You just need a break," said Cornelia, soothingly, looking down at her Charms notes through her glasses as though Sirius was just another errant student. But Sirius had already gathered up his things, for he had seen Bellatrix and Snape exit the library together, and his hackles were up. He caught up with them halfway down the hall, where Bellatrix looked somewhat pleased to see him, but tried not to show it and Snape looked nothing short of furious.

"Trixie, you seem to have lost your way," pointed out Sirius, pushing Snape out of the way.

"Cousin, I don't remember inviting _you_. If I recall, you had made your _allegiances_ quite clear to me the last time we met—and I can't be bothered with people who change their minds," drawled Bellatrix, insinuating that Snape had certainly taken Sirius' place in her affections, which only irked Sirius more, as he couldn't bear losing.

"Now _Snivellus_—if you're very good, you might want to know what I have to tell you," retorted Sirius, turning his attentions to Bellatrix's greasy haired companion.

"How boring you two are. Well, I can't be bothered to wait around while you two have a cat fight. _Please_ let me know who wins," said Bellatrix dismissively, her eyes lingering on Sirius's handsome form. As she left, Snape turned to follow her and found his way blocked by Sirius.

"Come on Black," he spat, "No one likes a sore loser."

Sirius looked at him patronizingly and waggled his finger like a parent reprimanding a misbehaving child,

"My very dear Snivellus, how do you think Narcissa would feel about this turn of events? And don't you think that I shall waste no time in telling her? Or for that matter, how Rodolphus _Lestrange_ might feel about things. I know you two are in the same _club_ together."

Snape's expression showed that he recognized that Sirius would indeed mince no words on this matter.

"Yes, that's what I thought. Well, why don't you be a good boy and meet up with Narcissa tonight instead of spending time with Bellatrix? If I know that you haven't been up to the Heads' Suite—and believe me—I will know, I'll tell Narcissa to meet you in the perfect location."

"Pray tell where that is,"

"There's a knot on the Whomping Willow that stops it from moving. Inside the passageway there's a secret room. I'll tell Narcissa to wait there for you at midnight. And I won't tell a word to _anybody_."

Snape looked like he was pleased, but was extremely loathe to believe anything that Sirius said.

"Oh _come now_, dear Snivellus. You don't think I'm Sirius Black for nothing. And don't be late—we wouldn't want Druella Black to come berate you again, now would we?"

* * *

That night after dinner, the three remaining Marauders' were discussing their plans for after the OWLs when the common room had emptied out, as was their wont.

"I'll be glad when I don't have to study anymore, it's an absolute wreck to my social life," announced Sirius, making the pencils on the table walk across to where Peter was sitting with his wand.

"Tell me about it! Oh Padfoot—I came to the library looking for you earlier but Cornelia told me that you'd left and something about not wanting to study Charms?"

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell you, I came up with the most brilliant prank."

And Sirius told Peter and James the story of how he had lured Snape into visiting the Whomping Willow that night when Remus was transforming.

"You did WHAT?" exclaimed James, his already pale face turning a very deathly white.

"Oh it'll be such a lark—he'll run out screaming for his life like the little pansy that he is," said Sirius scathingly, his grey eyes dangerous.

"Screaming for his _life_, Sirius! Are you bloody crazy? Let me just tell you—whatever the _Black_ family might do as a prank does not count in real life," continued James, running up the stairs to fetch his invisibility cloak. As soon as he had run back down the stairs, he grabbed Sirius's shoulders and shook him roughly,

"_When_ did you tell him to go? It's 11:45 now? Has he already gone? Remus must have already transformed."

"Calm down Prongs! I think I said midnight. But he's such a scaredy git he won't show up anyway—" explained Sirius, now starting to get the full impact of what he had done. James shook his head, his brown eyes very serious, and sped out of Gryffindor tower with the cloak in his hands. As soon as he could not see anyone, he flung the cloak over himself and continued out to the grounds.

As expected, the light from the full moon made the grounds around Hogwarts easily visible. James thought that he could hear the sounds that Remus made inside the Shrieking Shack, and he hoped against hope that Snape had not heeded Sirius's advice and looked for Narcissa past the Whomping Willow. As he came closer to the Willow, he could see the great tree's branches were flailing as they did typically. Unfortunately, he could also see the outline of a figure who seemed to be moving towards the stump that immobilized the Willow—Snape was not quite as afraid as Sirius had made him out to be.

James had barely caught him before he had gotten past the passageway, pulling him back right after he had glimpsed Remus's jaws before him. Fortunately, Snape had the sense to run and together, the two boys returned back to the halls where they came face to face with Argus Filch, who brought them to Professor Dumbledore, who seemed to have been patrolling the halls. Both boys were silent, and James looked up at Professor Dumbledore, whose face was oddly impassive.

"Well, you two are not students I would expect to find together. That is, of course, fifty points each from Gryffindor and Slytherin. And I would hope that neither of you, particularly you, Severus, will mention what you saw tonight." The two of them exited wordlessly from Dumbledore's presence.

* * *

Lily, Mary Macdonald and Cornelia were studying together in the library.

"I think that Cheering Charms are likely to show up on our OWLs," remarked Mary wisely as Cornelia nodded and Lily continued highlighting portions of her notes.

Lily saw Severus out of the corner of her eye as he was leaving the library and looked at him contemptuously as he looked rather surprised and continued his walk past Madam Pince. Last week she had seen him briefly when he appeared to be walking with Bellatrix Lestrange and she had been disgusted by the way that he simpered over her. When she had tried to greet him, he had ignored her, further justifying to her annoyance with that witch. When Lily left an hour later, leaving Mary and Cornelia to their high level theory discussion, she was found that Severus was still waiting for her outside.

"I was hoping you hadn't died in there," remarked Severus jokingly as Lily continued walking quickly past him.

"Oh is that so? I thought it might be easier for you to pretend to _Bellatrix_ that I didn't exist if I _did_ die? Isn't that so?" she retorted as they made walked down the stairs from the fourth floor to the central courtyard.

"But I thought we were supposed to be friends?" said Snape, looking a bit hurt, "Best friends?"

"We _are_, Sev, but I don't like some of the people you're hanging round with! I'm sorry, but I detest Avery and Mulciber! _Mulciber!_ What do you see in him, Sev, he's creepy! D'you know what he tried to do to Mary Macdonald the other day?"

"That was nothing, It was a laugh, that's all," shrugged Severus, thinking that Olivia Avery's exit from Hogwarts might have been for the best.

"It was Dark Magic and if you think that's funny—"

"What about the stuff Potter and his mates get up to?"

"What's Potter got to do with anything?"

"They sneak out at night. There's something weird about that Lupin. Where does he keep going?"

"He's ill, they say he's ill—" and Lily's green eyes looked sharp—she had always felt bad for Remus, with his shabby robes and his recurring illness.

"Every month at the full moon?"

"I know your theory, Why are you so obsessed with them anyway? Why do you care what they're doing at night?"

"I'm just trying to show you they're not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are," and Snape looked meaningfully at Lily, regretting that he had ever thought it was more important to associate with Bellatrix—she might have been powerful—but Lily was as she always was, a lovely silken thread that lures you, catches you…

"They don't use Dark Magic, though," continued Lily, dropping her voice, "And you're being really ungrateful. I heard what happened the other night. You went sneaking down to that tunnel by the Whomping Willow, and James Potter saved you from whatever's down there—"

The indignity of this comment was not lost on Snape, who had felt cheated by the whole experience, especially as Sirius had managed to escape that night without losing a single house point.

"Saved? Saved? You think he was playing the hero? He was saving his neck and his friends' too! You're not going to—I won't let you—"

This made Lily furious. She was tired of everyone—Severus—James, _especially_ James acting like she was their object. She knew she should have listened to Cornelia, who had always warned her against wizards in general (Although, a nasty voice in her head pointed out that Cornelia seemed to be rather bad at heeding her own advice—those who fall last, fall hardest).

"_Let_ me? _Let_ me?"

"I didn't mean—I just don't want to see you made a fool of—He fancies you, James Potter fancies you! And he's not as everyone thinks—just a big Quidditch hero," added Severus bitterly, feeling that the division between the houses and James and Sirius had rent his oldest friendship. Lily felt rather sorry for him, and continued,

"I know James Potter's an arrogant toerag—I don't need _you_ to tell me that. But Mulciber's and Avery's idea of humor is just evil. _Evil_, Sev. I don't understand how you can be friends with them. And I won't even get to the story of Bellatrix…"

* * *

These incidents made the atmosphere around the castle even more tense as the arrival of OWLs became even more imminent. James was predictably incensed with Sirius—especially as the Gryffindors were annoyed that their Quidditch hero had _lost_ them points trying to save a Slytherin—the other details of the story were naturally omitted. Remus was similarly furious that Sirius's actions had nearly made him the unwilling predator to a student, which Remus could not have conceivably overcome. Since Peter was loathe to go against the grain of the group, Sirius spent the last two weeks before their OWLs in comparative solitude.

Their teachers were no longer given them homework and were instead revising topics that they felt were most likely to appear on the exams. James and Sirius were in a silent competition in Transfiguration, with each student Vanishing larger and larger animals until Professor McGonagall told them that she would be Vanishing one of them if they didn't calm down.

The Fifth Year Gryffindors did not have any classes with the Ravenclaws, but Sirius usually made a point of meeting Cornelia after her Divination class and noticed that the slight witch was looking more and more frazzled as OWLs drew closer. This last time she hadn't even noticed Sirius standing there when she walked outside.

"Oh it's you again," remarked Cornelia as she finally lifted her head from her notes. Sirius was leaning against the wall beside the ladder down from Divination, looking very haughty and handsome.

"Well noticed. I never pegged you as the Divination type—why are you in that class anyway?"

To Sirius surprise, Cornelia looked amused rather than annoyed (which was her typical modus operandi in these trying times),

"My _mother_ thought it would be a useful subject for me to be taking. But there's absolutely no chance that I'll be continuing at the NEWT level, so I've been using it as a chance to review other material. My father is actually much more sensible about these things, even if he is terribly short-sighted about so many others."

It was only the previous day that another Daily Prophet article had appeared, although Cornelia was rather relieved that the author had chosen to praise Barty Crouch's methods rather than excoriate them—she had not anticipated that the backlash from her testimony would be so harsh and so long. She had absentmindedly taken down her brown hair from its characteristic perch in the bun on her head, and Sirius found that her hair was quite long, and with her hair down and her hairband on, she looked rather like someone else that he couldn't quite place.

"I just asked if you were worried about exams."

"Oh, no. My parents aren't particularly concerned with things like exams—so I only have to do well in the subjects I really like. Well, that and I'd like to be an Auror."

"A Dark Wizard Catcher? Well, you'll be under the guidance of my dear father. He obviously expects me to do very well, it's rather trying really. Mother, of course, would like nothing better than for me to forget about all of this achieving and so forth, and settle down with a nice pureblood wizard," a remark that made Cornelia look up at Sirius and smile ironically.

"I think I would like to be a Healer. But they expect very high marks in NEWT level, so I've got to make it into all of those courses. Father, of course, wants me to go into banking," and Cornelia rolled her eyes as though this was quite characteristic of her father.

They had arrived at the foot of Ravenclaw tower. Cornelia had once again folded her hair into a bun and she looked at Sirius in an effort to delay their parting,

"I think I see Mary Macdonald rounding the corner. In Runes (which fortunately, Sirius had escaped taking) she asked me how many hours a day I'd been studying. I think exams are driving her mad," as the two of them rounded up the staircase.

The eagle knocker looked annoyed with Cornelia for keeping him waiting.

"_Tall when young, short when old…breath is my undoing_." (1)

Sirius never heard what Cornelia answered, as he had left her as he ran down the stairs—although he suspected that she had answered correctly, as he thought the door opened to let her in. He made his way east from Ravenclaw tower, and arrived in Transfiguration some minutes later, taking his usual seat next to James, who pointedly ignored him.

Professor McGonagall had put up their examination schedule on the board, and it looked grueling.

"Your OWLs will take place over two weeks, with the theory exams taking place in the mornings and you will sit for the practical in the afternoons. The one exception is the Astronomy practical exam, which will take place at night for ideal viewing. As expected, your examination papers have been imbued with anti-cheating charms, and any other examination aid is also banned from the examination. This includes _Felix Felicis_—although—if you manage to brew that potion yourself, I suspect you will do quite fine without its aid on at least one exam. An owl will be sent to you with your results sometime in July."

Sirius viewed this information rather grimly, as this summer promised to be an exhausting one—he suspected that the Death Eaters would be coming to call at Twelve Grimmauld Place rather more often and he did not wish to see Bellatrix any more than necessary.

Their first examination was Charms Theory, and Remus had finally forgiven Sirius enough to let him quiz him on the material, which Sirius figured was a fine method of learning the material himself.

James was reading his Charms notes again, which he had managed to organize into its own textbook. Lily—who everyone thought was the best their year in Charms—was reciting different aspects of Charms to herself and then checking her answers in their textbook. Mary Macdonald appeared to have fallen asleep from sheer exhaustion. Peter seemed to have given up studying entirely, and was relying on the Brain Potion that he had purchased from some Sixth Year over Lily's vehement objection.

The examiners entered that evening and Sirius was confused as to how they had all survived so long after being in close proximity to largely untrained witches and wizards who were beset by exam nerves. But they did all seem very old. The next few hours passed in a blur and Sirius's dreams were filled with thoughts of color changing animals and enchanted teacups. Before he knew it, it was morning and the Fifth and Seventh years were filing into the Great Hall. Just a second before they entered, James turned to him to wish him good luck rather unexpectedly, which had the fortunate after effect of calming down whatever exam nerves he had.

The four house tables had been replaced with many small tables, and Sirius moved to find his seat—which was in rather close proximity to Narcissa who was taking her OWL as well—but by the fate of marriage, rather far away from Bellatrix, who was taking her NEWT.

Sirius began writing, remembering turning Snivellus' robes a shocking pink as he expounded on the effects and methods of Color-Changing Charms.

As they exited the Great Hall two hours later, James gave voice to what all four Marauders were thinking—

"It's a good thing we did all those pranks— "

"Yes, I think that's the only way I would have known that the Cheering Charm had a counter charm for hiccoughs, although I'm not entirely sure that it was relevant to the question—"

The afternoon marked the practical examination, where Sirius felt rather more prepared. He had to go in before nearly everyone else, although he was heartened to see a disappointed looking Narcissa on the table adjacent to his examination.

Professor Marchbanks was taking his examination, and she was an ancient witch whose wrinkles seemed to have developed their own wrinkles.

"Now, if you could increase the size of this puffskein and then tickle it for me," she said after conjuring a puffskein from thin air.

After the examination ended, Sirius felt that he had done rather well—although he thought that he had heard the other examiner ask Cornelia to do a flying charm for extra credit, as he had seen her puffskein take to the air after his had finished.

The next day was Defense Against the Dark Arts, which Sirius felt that he might be able to do well. Certainly, he had had enough practice defending _himself_ during school holidays.

Their assigned seats for the theory portion had changed (to protect from cheating, Sirius supposed). Sirius was seated four seats behind James and in front of Lena Carrow, who had not done well in her Charms practical the previous day. Professor Flitwick announced that they could begin, and Sirius began writing.

After what seemed like an hour or more had passed, Sirius felt that he had answered every question quite satisfactorily and began adding new touches to his responses—perhaps the examination committee would enjoy his discourse on the advantages of the Impediment Jinx rather than the Reductor Curse in certain circumstances.

He put down his quill and was leaning onto the back two legs of his chair with his hair falling into his eyes. Professor Flitwick announced that there were five minutes left in the exam, and he saw that James had turned around and grinning at him—and Sirius gave him a thumbs up—happy that they had reconciled.

Professor Flitwick squeaked, "Quills down, please! That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"

This seemed to be a miscalculation on the part of Professor Flitwick as the hundred rolls of parchment zoomed at Professor Flitwick and knocked him over. He was helped up by Mary Macdonald and Cornelia, whom he thanked, and told everyone that they were free to go.

Sirius saw James waiting for him, and joined him in waiting for Remus and Peter.

"Well, _that_ was a breeze," said James, quickly stuffing his spare parchment into his pocket.

"Did you like question ten, Moony?" asked Sirius, trying to see what the parchment said.

"Loved it. Give five signs to identify the werewolf. Excellent question."

James made a face, and continued,

"D'you think you managed to get all the signs?"

The four boys were waiting in line to get out onto the grounds—eager for a brief respite from the exams.

"Think I did," retorted Lupin, in James's serious vein, "One: he's sitting on my chair. Two: he's wearing my clothes. Three: his name's Remus Lupin." Sirius laughed hysterically and nearly fell over, to the annoyance of the nearby Hufflepuffs. James, who had retained better control of himself while laughing, managed to pull Sirius back to a standing position. Peter had remained silent.

"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes and the tufted tail," he said nervously, "but I couldn't think what else—"

"How thick are you Wormtail? You run round with a werewolf once a month,"

"Keep your voice down," said Lupin, looking around the grounds to see if anyone had heard. They walked down the grounds towards the lake.

"Don't worry Moony, you can always bite them if they threaten you," said Sirius mockingly,

"I thought that paper was a piece of cake—I'll be surprised if I don't get an Outstanding on it at least."

"Me too," said James. He had pulled out a Snitch from his pocket, which made Sirius roll his eyes and look around for Lily, who _must_ be nearby if James was going to go to the trouble of showing off.

"Where'd you get that?"

"Nicked it," replied James, letting the Snitch go and catching it again several times. Lupin was ignoring James, who seemed to be making sure that the group of giggling girls did include Lily. Sirius was looking to see if included Cornelia, but trying to make sure that no one noticed, especially Bellatrix, who had finished her exam around the same time.

James had caught the Snitch again, and Peter gasped and applauded again, which was now driving Sirius insane. He seemed inclined to take the Snitch out of James's hands himself if he didn't want to stay on James' good side.

"Put that away, will you—before Wormtail wets himself with excitement."

"If it bothers you."

"Merlin, I'm bored. Wish it was full moon," said Sirius, while James shot him a dark look, as if to say—remember what happened last full moon.

"_You_ might. We've still got Transfiguration, if you're bored you could test me. Here…," said Lupin, holding out his textbook to Sirius, which he declined.

"I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all."

"This'll liven you up, Padfoot," said James, "Look who it is—"

Sirius turned his head and saw Snape, who had not forgiven him after the Whomping Willow incident in the least.

"Excellent," said Sirius, in nearly a whisper, "Snivellus." The two of them stood up, while Lupin seemed to be determinedly ignoring them.

"All right, Snivellus?" asked James loudly as Snape dove into his bag for his wand.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted James, and Snape's wand flew into the air and landed on the grass behind him.

"Impedimenta!" shouted Sirius, knocking Snape off his feet.

Other students were looking at them, including Cornelia.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" continued James and Sirius added rather viciously—feeling that this was only just retribution for Bellatrix—

"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment. There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."

Snape looked furious at both of them, and none of his traditional band of Slytherins was nearby.

"You—wait," continued Snape, looking at them in utmost loathing.

"Wait for what? What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?" said Sirius, his handsome face contorted into an arrogant sneer.

Snape tried to hex them, but he was still too far away from his wand for anything to work.

"Wash out your mouth! Scourgify!" said James, pointing his wand at Snape's mouth to make pink frothy bubbles come out.

"Leave him ALONE!" yelled a voice. Sirius looked around to make sure it was not Cornelia, but was dismayed to find that she was looking at him with narrowed eyes. It was Lily Evans.

"All right, Evans," said James, who was trying to fix his hair so it looked more windswept.

"Leave him alone. What's he done to you?" said Lily firmly.

"Well, it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean—"

"You think you're funny, but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans. Go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and a giant squid," said Lily, her eyes looking at the lake as though daring the giant squid to try his luck.

"Bad luck, Prongs," said Sirius bracingly, and he saw that Snape had seized his wand again.

A gash appeared on James' face, and he flicked his wand so that Snape was hanging upside down in the air. Cornelia let out an involuntary laugh, but soon returned to her staid expression.

"Let him down!"

"Certainly," obliged James, and Snape appeared on the ground. Before Snape could gather himself, Sirius flicked his wand in a leg-locker curse, forcing Snape to keel over again.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE," shouted Lily, taking out her own wand.

"Oh Evans, don't make me hex you."

"Take the curse off him, then!"

"There you go—you're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus."

And then, to Lily's very great shock, Snape muttered,

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" Lily's face turned very pale, but she retorted coolly,

"Fine. I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."

"Apologize to Evans!" yelled James

"I don't want you to make him apologize—you're as bad as he is."

James looked annoyed,

"What? I'd _never_ call you a—you-know-what!"

In response Lily continued on a tirade that Sirius only half heard, his eyes locked on Cornelia, whose lips had made a very thin line.

"…You make me SICK," ended Lily, turning her heel and running off.

James looked crestfallen.

"Evans! …What is it with her?"

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," said Sirius, his eyes still trained on Cornelia.

"Right."

There was another flash of light, and James was threatening Snape again. Cornelia looked at him and shook her head and left the way that Lily had gone.

* * *

(1) This riddle is from Eragorn, and the answer is a candle. Obviously, all of this material is copied to comment on the absurdity of wizarding culture.


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